Ribbon Share #1

Here we go!

*There are two groups, each has 5 different ribbon styles in it. There is no duplication between the groups, so if you would like a share in both, you will receive 1/4 roll of 10 different ribbons.

*I have selected mainly In Color ribbons, as they have been extremely popular, and requested by a few of my readers for shares.

*You will receive 1/4 of each roll. Roll length varies depending on the style of ribbon. I won't give precise lengths, as the rolls are often a little longer than stated, so each person will receive an equal 1/4 amount.

*If you would like to participate, please send me an email to michelle.dyson@bigpond.com and state your name, address, and which group/s you wish to join. I will contact you with the direct deposit details for your payments.

*The cost has been worked out simply as: Roll cost including 5% postage/handling divided by 4 + $1.10 postage, and then rounded up to the nearest 5 cents.

*Sorry, this offer is open to Australian residents only.

Group 1:

5/8" Striped Grosgrain Ribbon Riding Hood Red (#111374) page 150 IBC

Double Sided Satin Ribbon 9.5mm Kiwi Kiss/Very Vanilla (#111879) p 151 IBC

5/8" Striped Grosgrain Ribbon Baja Breeze (#111375) p150 IBC

1/2" Striped Grosgrain Ribbon Old Olive (#113883) p151 IBC

5/8" Striped Grosgrain Ribbon Pacific Point (#111370) p150 IBC

Cost per share $24.50 including postage anywhere in Australia

Group 2:

Taffeta ribbon Riding Hood Red (vanilla edge) (#111365) p151 IBC

5/8" Striped Grosgrain Ribbon Kiwi Kiss (#111372) page 150 IBC

1" Double Stitched Grosgrain Ribbon Baja Breeze (111847) p150 IBC

5/8" Striped Grosgrain Ribbon Pink Pirouette (#111373) page 150 IBC

5/8" Striped Grosgrain Ribbon Tangerine Tango (#111371) page 150 IBC

Cost per share $25.10 including postage anywhere in Australia

*There are 4 shares per group, but if I get sufficient interest, I can purchase extra rolls for more people to join in. Thanks! (ps -the image above does not show the actual ribbons and is for visual interest only. I might get a chance to photograph them later)

Stampin' Up! Product Shares

Put your hand up if you'd love to have a nice selection of Stampin' Up! ribbons, Pretties Kit and Hodgepodge to play with, without needing to purchase a whole roll or pack?

A few of you? Yes, there have been a number of enquiries! I have done these shares with my demonstrator group and downline, but I'm about to invite my customers and readers in on the fun!

First up will be ribbon, and the shares will be 1/4 rolls. Depending on the ribbon style, you will receive between 2.28m and 3.42m of each - certainly enough to play with! Cost will be 1/4 of the roll cost including the postage and handling charge (5%)x the number of ribbon styles in the share plus $1.10 for postage per share. I will run two groups of ribbon, and you are welcome to join in both groups if you wish to purchase a share in each. If you want half a roll, purchase two shares! Ribbons will be as listed in the groups and not exchangeable, and you will receive all the ribbon styles in that group for the share price.

Groups will need to be filled before I can order, so stay tuned for more details tomorrow, then tell your friends!

Just having a play around with settings...

I do have more pics to post, but I thought I'd have a play with the sidebar of my blog tonight for a change. Long awaited cover images of the current catalogues are shown, so you can zoom off to Stampin Temptation in just one click!

I've also added a poll, so you can tell me what days you are most able to attend a class. It seems like weekends are getting far too crowded, and I've had a number of enquiries about weekday classes or evening classes during the week. If you're local enough to come along to Cherrybrook, North Western Sydney, please click away and give me your opinion, thanks!

I'd like to add a slideshow, still working on something in the correct format though, I'll keep you posted! There are so many cool gadgets to add!

Ho Ho Ho!! Snow Swirled on the Ski Slope

Another card I whipped up in a matter of moments recently (although I hope it doesn't LOOK like I slapped it together!!) It uses the GORGEOUS Christmas paper from the Spring Mini catalogue, Ski Slope ($16.95 for 12 sheets of heavy weight, double sided 12x12 Christmassy lusciousness, #112994) I much MUCH prefer this design to the one in the main catalogue, Holiday Treasures. Although if you like poinsettias and daisies you will love that paper - each to their own! The colours of cardstock featured in Ski Slope are Choc Chip, Real Red, Baja Breeze and Old Olive. It's just SO easy to design a card when all the colour and styling work has been done for you by the paper designers!

It also features a set called "Snow Swirled" ($45.95 #115868) from page 30 of the main catalogue. Take a look, because it has the most beautiful filigree style swirly tree, and matching Nordic style snowflakes, as well as two traditionally elegant greetings.

The base of the card is Old Olive, and I have stamped the smallest snowflake using Old Olive ink. Then we have a simple panel of DSP, distressed at both edges. A band of Chocolate Chip cardstock is overlaid onto this, followed by a strip of another pattern from the pack, a stripe. I've run it vertically for a bit of contrast between the horizontal bands of the main DSP piece. Over this is a small panel of Whisper White on which I have stamped the greeting in Chocolate Chip, and popped it up on Stampin Dimensionals.

For the finishing touch I used another Build a Brad, with a snowflake patterned piece of Ski Slope punched with the 1/2" circle punch. Fast, easy and ideal for mass production. You can make a lot of cards from a pack of the Ski Slope paper and a pack of each of the co-ordinating colours - mix and match to your heart's content. Place your order today, and you can be ahead of the Christmas game in no time!

Cute 3D flowers using Scribble This

Here's a card that simply fell together nicely (I think, anyway!) at some time after 1am during the recent Stampin Up Team weekend away. It was for a colour challenge, using Baja Breeze, Sahara Sand, So Saffron, More Mustard and Whisper White. Not colours I'd ever think of combining off the top of my head, but I really like the way they look together.

Stamps used are "Scribble This" (know as Doodle This in the US, go figure!) and a set called Perfect Princess. You could get away with just using Scribble though, as there is a suitable flourish stamp as well as the flower that is the main act.

I have stamped in Whisper White Craft ink using the flourish along the left side of the card. Then I sponged the edges of some So Saffron with More Mustard ink, and stamped the flourish again using More Mustard on this panel.

This panel is mounted, and some Whisper White taffeta ribbon is tied around.

On the Whisper White panel I have stamped the stem swirl using More Mustard ink , to create a base layer for the flowers.

Now to make the flowers. It's really, really hard! (NOT!) I was so surpised how easy they were, even when sleep deprived! Simply stamp the large flower onto some Designer Series Paper, taking note of the colour on the reverse, as it will show a little. I used a So Saffron floral print from the Walk in the Park (Spring Mini) but the Designer Series Prints papers which are available in 8 colours (p135 of the IBC) would be perfect for this technique. Cut around the outside of the flower petals. Place a Stampin' Dimensional foam dot in the centre of the WRONG side, then fold the petals over and press down onto the edge of the dot. Keep going until all petals have been folded, then hold your breath.... and flip it over! So cute, so easy!! I added some Crystal Effects dimensional adhesive for a bit of gloss in the centres, then stuck them to the white panel with another dimensional foam dot.

Thanks SO much to the talented Margaret Crawford for showing us this technique in one of her impromptu "wow" demonstrations during the weekend, it is one I think I will be using quite a bit!

Oops, almost forgot the finishing touch! I punched 2 circles of More Mustard cardstock which had been stamped with More Mustard ink. I then assembled them into the "Build a Brad" kit, which has brad bases and clear epoxy domes, so that you can custom design the perfect match for your card. Find them on page 149 of the IBC. You can also put punched patterned paper under them, so easy and very effective.

Ovals All Pillow Box Make n Take

This one was super dooper fast, great for a quick, easy table decoration or party favour. Or, you could suggest to your loved one that it's also the perfect size for a Pandora bead or 3?? Worth a try anyway, it's my 15th wedding anniversary in a few days time. I wish it was as easy to buy a gift for the blokes. Us girls, we're easy, some stamping goodies and a bead or two will keep us very happy indeed! Check out my Wish List and Gift Voucher Service if your dearest needs a little nudge in the right direction!

Onto the Make n Take...

Materials:

Old Olive Card Base

Walk in the Park DSP band

So Saffron card scrap

Very Vanilla cardstock scrap

Ovals All stamp set (from the Spring Mini)

Scallop Oval punch (from the Spring Mini)

Large Oval punch

Bella's Bloom stamp set

Versamark Inkpad

The shape was cut out using a Sizzix Pillow box die, but there are lots of free templates available online, that just need a quick snip with scissors instead.

Stamp the small flower from Bella's Bloom all over using Versamark.

Apply Sticky Strip adhesive to the closing edge and assemble the box

Whip the DSP strip around the box and seal. Stamp the oval stamp using ink of choice and punch out, then repeat with the Scallop oval. Mount these together and stick over the join on the DSP strip. DONE! Fill with goodies of choice...

Make n Take with Tree Trimmings Stamps

This is the second of the Make n Take projects guest at our Spring Mini Launch day got to make. It uses the Tree Trimmings Set, which has been extremely popular - it is currently on backorder, but more stock is on the way. If you'd like it for your Christmas cards, please get your order to me soon as, to ensure you have plenty of time to create with it. I have seen lots and lots of ideas with this set, it is so simple, and yet so versatile. It's also a must-have at just $24.95! You can find it on page 21 of the Spring Mini, and the item code for your wishlists is 116893

MATERIALS, all Stampin' Up! All available to order through me:


Chocolate Chip card base


Baja Breeze strip


Ski Slope Designer Series Paper strip (112994)


Whisper White cardstock panel


Real Red cardstock panel


White Taffeta ribbon


Tree trimmings stamp set (116893)


Old Olive, Baja Breeze, Real Red and Chocolate Chip inkpads

Stamp-a-ma-jig is a good idea for accurate placement


Stampin Dimensionals


1/2" circle punch


corner rounder punch - still available but omitted in error from the Catalogue (109047)


"Best Yet" Level 1 Hostess set greeting stamp


Paper snips - simply the best for making fine detail cutting easy!

Stamp the largest ornament in Real Red in the centre of the panel, and stamp a second time on a scrap of Whisper White for cutting out. Stamp the other ornaments to the left and right in Baja Breeze and Old Olive inks. Use the SAMJ and Chocolate Chip ink to place the ties. The largest ornament in the centre can hang off the bottom of the white panel, as you will be layering the cut out one over the top.

Use the corner rounder (upside down for accuracy) to round the corners of the long edge of the Baja Breeze, DSP and Real Red panels. Mount as shown in the photo. Stamp the greeting before adhering the ribbon, lumpy bits don't make for a great stamped impression!!

Layer the second large ornament over the first, so it hangs down over the join between the Whisper White and DSP panels, and pop it up with some Stampin Dimensionals.

Stamp an ornament stamp in Old Olive ink on a scrap of Old Olive, and punch out 2 x 1/2" circles to mount at the right side. I intended to add some crystal effects, but haven't gotten around to it yet!

Hope you like it, it was fast and easy, ideal for mass production. I am currently selecting a September date for my first Christmas card Stamp-a-Stack, negotiating around the multitude of family events in September, so stay tuned and watch the calendar!

Make n Take with Great Friend Stamps

Materials:

All from Stampin' Up!, all available through me.


Baja Breeze cardstock Base


Cameo Coral Cardstock strip


Very Vanilla cardstock for cut out of butterfly and label


Very Vanilla Taffeta ribbon


Stampin Dimensional foam dots


Walk in the Park Designer Series Paper strip, 115123 p6 Spring MiniL


Great Friend stamp set 116889 p4 Spring Mini


Baja Breeze, Cameo Coral, Kiwi Kiss and So Saffron Classic Inkpads

Here is one of the cards we made as a Make n Take at myself and Kim's Spring Mini Launch last Saturday. The cardstock base is stamped in Baja Breeze ink with the butterfly and stem stamps from the Great Friend set in the Spring Mini. I started the stems about 1cm above the bottom of the card, so they would be covered by the DSP and Cameo Coral strip.

Next, the DSP/Cameo Coral strip was mounted on the card front with a piece of Vanilla Taffeta ribbon in place behind it.

Next, the Butterfly and frame label stamp were put onto Very Vanilla cardstock scraps and cut out, I used a Stamp-a-ma-jig to line up the greeting inside the frame. These were popped up with Stampin Dimensionals, and the ribbon knot was tied.

This set is fantastic, and I do hope it makes the 2010/2011 Idea Book, but just in case, you'd better add it to your wishlist today! While you have the list out, make sure to add a pack of the Walk in the Park Designer Series paper which matches so beautifully with the stamp set. It's chock full of pretty spring colours, and there is also matching scrummy coloured rubons! (114620)

Spring Mini Launch Party Winners, and more...

Thank you so much everyone who was able to make it to the Spring Mini Catalogue Launch party held last Saturday, Kim and I had a wonderful time sharing the new goodies with you. Everyone was able to make three different Make n Take Projects, and Kim treated us to several "WOW"'s including White Stazon on Cello, and Faux Silk using the pretty Soft Summer set from the Mini.

We offered two prizes on the day, a Lucky Door Prize and a prize drawn from guests who placed orders of $100 or more on the day. Andrew drew them for us at the conclusion of the day as we recovered with a bottle of wine and yummy gourmet pizza.

Firstly, the Lucky Door Prize of A Spring Solitude Hostess Stamp Set and Wheel Bundle (from the last catalogue), Tombow Multi Glue and Signo White Gel pen was won by....

Leanne J of Wahroonga! Congratulations to Leanne, we'll arrange to deliver your prize along with your order very soon.

The Incentive Prize of a Simply Sent Card Kit was won by Joanne P of Kingsgrove, Well done Joanne!

Additionally, because I never actually finished my July Newsletter in my busyness preparing for the Launch, I'll announce the winner of my June competition of a "for a friend" Hostess stamp set.... Congratulations to Fiona R of Glenorie!

Would you like to be in the running for prizes and giveaways? And get information on special offers, Papercraft classes and events? Simply click the button at the right hand side to subscribe to this blog, you'll receive an email update when I update. To receive my monthly-ish Newsletter, send an email with SUBSCRIBE in the subject to my email and I'll add you to the list.

I'll finish with another card for Kim, this time made by my husband Andrew. He carefully selected a stamp set to use, Pun Fun, and a design to CASE from the Idea Book and Catalogue. He chose a colour scheme, around what else but PURPLE and did a wonderful job, all by himself. The card base is Pale Plum, stamped with Pale Plum using the Polka Dot background. The background panel of Perfect Plum was run through the Cuttlebug with the Tiny Bubbles embossing folder. The Pun Fun Birthday birdy, (so cute!) was stamped in Stazon, and coloured using the Inkpad Puddle technique and a blender pen. Some small stars punched in Elegant Eggplant, Pale Plum and Perfect Plum were inked and popped up using Stampin' Dimensionals, and a strip of Elegant Eggplant grosgrain ribbon was added to complete the card. Hope you like it!

Card in a Box - Wedding Invite ideas with Together Forever

Last weekend I attended the second annual Team Weekend Away at Vision Valley, Arcadia, with my fellow "Inklings" , Jayne Mercer's team. We had an awesome time, full of colour and sketch challenges, catalogue quizzes, archery, and lots and lots of late night crafting. One of the activities was "card in a box" where we each designed and cut the pieces for a card, and included everything needed to create the card in the box. We then chose boxes at random to complete the sample. This year there were around 25 different boxes, so to give ourselves plenty of free creating time, we made up half the cards completely to swap, and were thus left with about 12 to actually stamp and assemble.

This picture is of my card, using the stamp set "Together Forever" (IBC page 46, 116426 $39.95). It is a beautiful set, and ideal for elegant wedding and engagement cards. The stamp elements lend themselves to various invitational pieces also, such as place cards, bonbonniere, thank you cards etc. I haven't seen many samples made with it though, so I thought I'd base my card on this set. The card bases are Confetti Cream, a beautiful heavy weight with a random hand-made fleck to it. I stamped all over the front and back of the card with Encore Gold ink, using the floral sprig stamp.

Next, I used the Eyelet Border punch to edge a strip of Basic Back cardstock, and I sponged the edges with Encore ink to accent them. Over this is a thin band of Brushed Gold metallic cardstock. I have overlaid a long strip of narrow black grosgrain to use as a side tie, placing this underneath the central motif. This is made with a circle scallop of Basic Black, with gold sponged edges again. The centre is the floral sprig stamped onto more confetti cream, and punched out with the 1 3/8" circle punch. The inner circle is popped up with a dimensional.

So, there you go. Simple, effective, elegant and eminently suitable for mass production - I made pieces for 25 and fully completed 12 of them all within a few hours. I really should challenge myself to make a matching suite of invites etc, showing the matching wheel. Hmm, onto the never-ending "to do" list it goes...

Spring Mini is GO!

It's now on! Orders can be placed from now until the 30th November.

You can now view the gorgeous Spring Mini Catalogue online:

HERE (click the link to be taken to the electronic PDF copy)

It's full of soft, pretty colours to inspire, some great Christmas stamp sets and masses of yummy accessories such as ribbon, corduroy buttons and rubons!

If you can make it along to our Spring Mini Launch Party this Saturday 8th August, you will have the opportunity to get up close and have a play with the new products. It is being hosted by Kim Tonnet and myself at my home in Cherrybrook, north western Sydney. The event runs from 2pm - 8pm to give you the opportunity to drop in when it suits you.

Cost is $5 per person, and includes champagne, nibbles, your own copy of the catalogue, make and take projects and chances to win prizes! The cost is fully redeemable against an order of $50 or more during the event. Please advise ASAP so we can prepare enough goodies to go around, by calling either Kim (02 9484 0117) or myself (02 9484 9447) to register your attendance. or send an email.