{Qrafty Queen}

Dunkleys Whangarei 2010

2010-06-18T02:12:00.006+12:00

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Dunkleys last weekend was a great success! Thanks so much to all of you who stopped by to say hi to me and my team of wonderful "angels": Kay, Liz, Christine and Judy - I am so lucky and blessed to have you as friends! Here are a selection of the pics (as promised - although a little late!) from the show:

I have been trying out my collage-making skills, so the above pic shows (from top left) me setting up the display, me at the stall, me giving a demonstration of how to stamp using markers (watched by Kay and customer), and Brenda McLeish, a fellow demonstrator from the far north, manning the stall on the Saturday.

Then we have more pics of me at the stall, some of my displays, and "angel" Judy with Karen (left), who is one of my customers and a very accomplished scrapbooker herself!

One of the highlights of the show for me was to give away a basket filled with Stampin' Up! goodies to one lucky person who filled in the door prize form during the weekend. The basket contained 36 sheets of assorted cardstock, two punches, three stamp sets, two Classic ink pads, two rolls of ribbon, two glue pens and a Versamark ink pad. I was so pleased when the winner was drawn and it was...

...Trees van Ruth from the Papermill in Whangarei!

The Papermill is a Charitable Trust that trains people with disabilities or special needs in the art of paper-making, as well as creating incredible works of art with these handmade papers. It was an honour to deliver the prize basket to Trees at the Papermill and to see the amazing papers, some made from materials from the Papermill's own garden! Trees said she was thrilled to receive the basket, but was especially thrilled with the punches, as some of her clients had tried them out at the show and were very keen on them. And I was thrilled that the prize had gone to such a great organisation! For more information on the Papermill please visit their website at www.papermill.co.nz - they are open Monday to Friday from 9am to 3pm, and are well worth a visit if you are in Whangarei.

Lastly, but certainly not least, a BIG thanks to Christine, one of my angels and also the chief "paparazzi" for me during stall set up and first day, as well as at the prize-giving. Christine left her sick hubby at home on the Thursday before the show to help me with set up, so a special thanks to Pat for lending her to me in his time of need!!

Be sure to tune into my blog on Wednesday for the last of the Deals of the Week for June, or subscribe to my newsletter if you want to see it hot-off-the-press! I will also try to blog the projects I made at our Creative Inkers team training on Saturday in Auckland - just have to put the finishing touches to them and then charge up the camera!!

Happy crafting!

Deal of the Week #3

2010-06-17T23:55:00.009+12:00

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Sorry I'm a bit late posting this week's deal. If you subscribe to my newsletter you would have already seen it anyway - another great reason to subscribe (use the Mail Chimp box on the RHS of my blog).

This week’s deals: Save up to 50% off the following stamp sets!

115792 Greetings Eight - $29.48 (rrp $58.95)

114263 A Happy Heart - $24.98 (rrp $49.95)

116330 Bella's Bloom - $17.37 (rrp $28.95)

113009 Enjoy Every Moment - $31.48 (rrp $62.95)

114283 All Scallops - $33.48 (rrp $66.95)

Next Wednesday the final deal for June will be launched, so newsletter subscribers will receive this by 4am (yes, I am a night owl!!) and I will post it on my blog as soon as I can after that.

And, as promised, pics from Dunkleys will be up tomorrow - including a pic of the lucky winner of my prize basket with over $250 worth of Stampin' Up! goodies in it!! See you then!

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Queen for a Day

2010-06-15T00:16:00.008+12:00

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Wow, what a great weekend! I had a ball at Dunkleys - it was fun to catch up with my customers (both old and new!). I'll post some pictures of my stall later on this week.

And I've also been busy with all the orders for the DSP that's on special! I wanted to show you this page I made with the fabulous Pink Flamingo papers. This page is cased from a page I saw here - I would never have thought to use the papers like this, but I love the effect it gives!

I especially love how the papers are used by cutting out various elements to use as embellishments on the page. How many times have you found a beautiful piece of paper but thought it was too lovely to use? Or the pattern was too "busy" to use on a page? By using just a little bit of paper, or by cutting out images from it, you can create a beautiful layout - or even a whole co-ordinating scrapbook from one pack of DSP!

I've also used the technique of colouring in chipboard letters then lacquering them with Crystal Effects - an easy way to ensure you always have matching letters for your layout!

The subject of this page is my beautiful niece Moana. Isn't she just the cutest?! I was lucky enough to be in Sydney when she turned two in January, so got this priceless pic of her wearing her new princess garb (only a few moments after this photo was taken that crown was off!!).

If you would like to order this paper at the special price of $12.97 (usually $19.95) then email me before 10pm tonight (Tuesday) so that I can place your order before the special price expires.

I'll be posting the new Deal of the Week tomorrow morning (after 2am when I find out what it is!) so come back and check it out. If you would like the deal emailed directly to you then please join my mailing list by entering your email address in the box on the right hand side of this page. I promise not to spam you, and you are free to unsubscribe at any time!

Catch you tomorrow and happy crafting!

Deal of the Week #2... and a page I've been meaning to post!

2010-06-09T21:47:00.008+12:00

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Throughout the month of June, Stampin’ Up! is bringing out a new deal every week! With the Deals of the Week, you’ll get up to 50% off a selection of products from the 2009-2010 Idea Book & Catalogue!

This week’s deals: Save 35-40% on selected Designer Series (double-sided) paper packs!

Haiku - $11.97 (rrp $19.95)

Tea Party - $11.97 (rrp $19.95)

Pink Flamingo - $12.97 (rrp $19.95)

Raspberry Tart - $12.97 (rrp $19.95)

Sweet Slumber - $18.17 (rrp $27.95)

There is no limit to the number of DSP packs you can purchase at the special prices, and no minimum order is required (5% will be added to your order total to cover postage and packaging). If you would like to order any of these papers at the special price you have until Tuesday 15 June at 10pm when I will be putting my order in, so place an order now!

Bronte Beach

Now for the page I've been meaning to post for the last two weeks... One of my customers once asked me whether I ever do any "plain" scrapbooking. I had to laugh, as I confess that most of the pages I do have at least a little embellishing on them! But that question sparked a challenge for me - to make a "plain" page! And this is what I came up with:

This is my most favourite beach in all of Sydney, Australia! Bronte is a small family-oriented beach, just two beaches south of the famous Bondi Beach (Tamarama beach is in between the two). At the southern end of the beach is a sheltered rock pool (the Aborigines call it a bogey hole) where young children can swim safely, and there is also a gorgeous ocean pool where swimmers can train by doing laps (the pool is 30 metres long) or teenagers can jump off the cliff into the deep end! During the Christmas holidays when I was visiting my brother and his family I spent many happy days in this pool, either alone or with my nephews.

I thought the photos of Bronte Beach would be perfect for my "plain" page, and I wanted to lay them out so that (1) they would showcase the many beautiful views, and (2) they would appear to be like a window that the viewer is looking out from. I love this page and the memories it brings back to me (isn't that what scrapbooking is all about - preserving your precious memories!).

The one addition I made to this page was to ink the chipboard letters with Pacific Point (to match the background cardstock) and then cover them in Crystal Effects, which is a clear dimensional lacquer that gives these letters such a wonderful shine!

I hope you like my "plain" page! And if you want to know more about it please feel free to contact me!

Supplies Used:
Cardstock: Pacific Point, Bashful Blue
Ink: Pacific Point, Bashful Blue
Stamps: Pure & Simple Alphabet (retired)
Other: On Board Loads of Letters, Crystal Effects, Sponge Dauber
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Dunkleys Great NZ Craft Show Coming to Whangarei!

2010-05-25T08:22:00.002+12:00

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The Dunkleys Great New Zealand Craft Show is returning to Whangarei on June 11-13 at the ASB Leisure Centre at Kensington Stadium! I have booked a stall there, and will be doing demonstrations and make'n'takes during the three day expo.

There is a link on the top right hand side of my blog where you can print out a discount voucher to get $1 off the price of entry ($2 if you come on Friday 11 June!), and I also have vouchers to give away if you don't have access to a printer. Come on down to Kensington Stadium and see me - and keep watching my blog and Facebook site for specials and freebies that will only be available during the Dunkleys weekend!
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Scrappy Monday!

2010-05-03T02:09:00.007+12:00

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I just love Mondays! The start of a new week, the opportunity to get everything done that wasn't done last week (hehe), and a chance to show you some of my scrapbooking!!

This page is an old one I did - one that I promised I would show you last year before I took my blogging 'holiday'. I made this page before I went to Australia to spend Christmas with my brother and his family, and it captures the main reason for my visit: to see my nephews and niece!

I used the I Wish Simply Scrappin' kit - a great kit to use to make quick and easy scrapbook pages as all elements co-ordinate together! This kit contains 8 sheets of 12"x12" textured cardstock (four different colors), 6 sheets of 12"x12" double-sided patterned paper, and 6 sheets of die-cut stickers - all this for only $43.95!

I have also used some of the scrumptious Button Bouquet buttons to add a little texture on the page, using linen thread and tiny strips of DSP to fill the button holes. The two corduroy buttons are from a different set that has sadly now retired :( - luckily I stocked up before they finished so still have plenty in my stash!

Also, to add some stamping to my page (which I find isn't always necessary when using the Simply Scrappin' kits, but I like to so I did!) I have used the Snow Swirled set which is still available in the main catalogue. That set sure did get a workout at Christmastime, and is one I'll be keeping in my collection for many years to come!

As this week is the start of National Scrapbooking Month I'm making the following offer to encourage you all to get scrappin'! Purchase any Simply Scrappin' kit during May and receive 5 metres of 1/4" grosgrain ribbon (in co-ordinating colours) FREE! Contact me today to place your order, and let me know which colour ribbon you would like to receive. Simply Scrappin' kits can be found on pages 136-38 of the main catalogue and on page 33 of the Autumn/Winter Mini; 1/4" grosgrain ribbon is on page 151 of the main catalogue.

Recipe (all products by Stampin'Up! unless otherwise noted):
Paper: Simply Scrappin' I Wish kit
Stamps: Snow Swirled
Ink: Versamark
Other: Silver embossing powder, Button Bouquet, linen thread, Chocolate Chip marker
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I'm Back and I'm Blogging!!

2010-04-30T08:00:00.006+12:00

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I must put my hand up and admit it - I've been a very bad blogger!! It's been five months since my last blog post (before yesterday's), and it's not as if I haven't been doing anything crafty... Actually, I have been doing LOTS, which I'll show you over the next few days/weeks/months! Thanks to all of you who have told me to get my A into G and start blogging again - see, I do listen to you (sometimes!).

My apologies in advance too; because I have been very bad and haven't blogged in so long, Stampin' Up! has gone through one whole mini catalogue AND Sale-a-bration while I've been away. Consequently, you may see projects that feature some products that are no longer available (although I live in hope that we'll see them again in the new Idea Book & Catalogue that comes out in September!). However, now that I have blitzed through my wishlist (yes, Demos do have these as well...) of goodies from the new Autumn/Winter Mini I have lots of new toys to play with, so you'll be seeing some of the projects I've been busily making with those as well. My gosh, I may have to blog every day for the next year just to get through everything I want to show you!!

Here's the first project I made when my goodies arrived; as you can see, I used a lot of my new toys to create this: the delicious new Rich Razzleberry cardstock, ink and ribbon, the new Cottage Wall DSP, the two-step bird punch, the Vintage Vogue set, and the Little Leaves Sizzlet die.

I used this card as my project at the Waipapa Extravaganza on 27 March. Those attending got to make four projects designed and taught by three different Demonstrators, and the ladies who booked to come to the Extravaganza through me also got to take home a little box filled with Easter goodies that I made for them. I got the idea for the punch art bunny from a blog I happened upon during my travels through cyberspace, but unfortunately have lost the link to it otherwise I'd post it here.

Stay tuned for more of my projects in the very near future!
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Just Add Ink Challenge #14

2010-04-29T02:22:00.005+12:00

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Nothing like a challenge to get someone back into blogging is there! I umm-ed and ahhh-ed about whether to post this page, as it didn't come out as 'heritage' as I would have liked, but thought I would share anyway, as part of it has a really nice collage effect.

This page showcases my gorgeous god-daughter, Carla, who has (surprisingly!) graced the pages of my scrapbooking pages (and blog) many times before! Last year she was finally old enough to travel up from Auckland to visit me in Whangarei, and we had plenty of photo opportunities when we visited Mair Park and she started climbing the old trees!!

I wanted to capture the timeless nature of this park, and to also show that this was an historic visit for us both. Hence the heritage-style page! I bought the twill tape ages ago when I saw how cool it looked stamped, but haven't managed to pull it out of my stash until now. I love it! To make the title shown below I first wheeled the Very Vintage jumbo wheel using Soft Suede, then randomly stamped the vine, from the de-vine (hehe) Vintage Vogue set in the new Autumn/Winter Mini, using Old Olive ink. I then stamped the title and flowers using Rich Razzleberry (or Rich Raz as I call it!), frayed each end of the tape and attached with brads. A few buttons cut out using the Buttons #5 Sizzlet and a bit of linen thread and Crystal Effects, then my title was completed!

I also stamped some flowers from the Vintage Vogue set onto vellum cardstock using the Rich Raz, cut them out and adhered to the page. A bit of faux-stitching using the mat pack, piercing tool and white gel pen to tie the Cottage Wall DSP together gave the page a nice collage feel. I know that the faux stitching and hand-cutting of the flowers takes time, but I love how the detail gives the page a real 'hand made' feel.

So, that's my take on the Just Add Vintage challenge! It's so nice to be blogging again - this will be a regular thing, I promise!! Go and check out the other great entries at Just Add Ink - there are some stunning ones this week!

Recipe (all products by Stampin'Up! unless otherwise noted):
Ink: Old Olive, Soft Suede, Rich Razzleberry, Sahara Sand, Whisper White
Paper: Old Olive, Soft Suede, Kraft, Vellum Cardstock, Cottage Garden DSP
Stamps: Lovely Letters alphabet, Vintage Vogue
Other: Vintage brads, Top Note Die, Buttons #5 Sizzlet, twill tape, glue dots, Stamp-a-ma-jig, Mat Pack and piercing tool, white gel pen, linen thread
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Christmas Gift Giving Promotion

2009-11-11T21:56:00.002+13:00

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Just a short post today to tell you about a fabulous promotion that Stampin' Up! has running until 14 December 2009, where you can get a FREE punch (either the Scallop Square or Boho Blossoms) worth $35.95 for every $105 you spend on certain items from the IB&C (Idea Book and Catalogue). To download the complete list of items please click here.

Tomorrow I'll post a picture of a page I made with one of the items on the list, the I Wish Simply Scrappin' kit ($43.95). These Simply Scrappin' kits are awesome for making quick pages and cards, as they include a co-ordinating combination of cardstock, patterned paper and diecuts which goes together with little effort. I Wish has a Christmas theme, making it perfect for this time of the year, but as you will see tomorrow it doesn't necessarily have to be used on a Christmas page...
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Sneaky Peak!

2009-11-10T20:00:00.002+13:00

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As promised, here is a sneaky peak of the door prize I've made for this weekend's event. Not the best picture I know, but that's what happens when you do photography at night (grrr!). Some lucky person will go home with this stationary kit on Sunday at the Tauranga Christmas Extravaganza - woohoo!! It has compartments inside that hold stamps, envelopes and greeting cards, as well as space for a notepad and calendar.

I got the template for this from the very talented Michelle Habib, who sells full instructions for making it on her website. I'm planning on making a few of these for Christmas presents, especially for some of my older relations. And if you're lucky I might just share the inside with you all sometime!
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So Young, So Innocent...

2009-11-08T20:00:00.001+13:00

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It seems my scrapbooking ladies just can't get enough of Heritage scrapbooking, but in order to make this page more versatile I have leaned towards more of a 'modern' heritage style.

This is my Third form (Year 9??) photo taken in 1986 when I was in my first year at boarding school. I can't believe how young and innocent (naive??)I look in this photo!

In order to give the page a timeless feel I have used the gorgeous Parisian Breeze DSP ($27.95), which is only available until the end of this month (sob!) when the Spring Mini catalogue ends. This DSP is a textured coverweight, so is perfect for those mini albums. I'm really going to miss it when it's gone... (can you tell!?!). I've also coupled this paper with the beautiful Great Friend set (also leaving in the Spring Mini!), which at $37.95 for five co-ordinating stamps is great value. In order to make the customised border shown below I used Baja Breeze ink to stamp the En Francais ($39.95) background onto glossy cardstock and then stamped the butterfly from Great Friend in Versamark before embossing it with white embossing powder (some students used clear embossing powder too so that the En Francais words showed though), and lastly sponging over the top with Baja Breeze again. I love how it all co-ordinates and really showcases this (modern) heritage page!

To add some extra special touches I have used a crystal brad, white half pearl and flower from the Pretties kit ($66.95 for TONS of bling!). The flower has been dyed with the Baja Breeze reinker to co-ordinate with the rest of the page. A few butterflies fluttering through the bottom left-hand corner symbolize my journey from innocence to... well, all that I am today!

Check out my blog tomorrow for a sneak peak of the door prize I am making for the Tauranga Extravaganza that is on this coming Sunday at St Johns Church in Bureta. I still have a couple of spaces left to fill so please contact me ASAP if you would like to join us for a fun afternoon of stamping and crafting on Sunday afternoon!

Cute Punch Art

2009-10-19T08:00:00.001+13:00

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I love cute punch art, and this owl and lamb are the cutest I've found yet! I can't take the credit for designing either of these though, as I found them both on my travels in cyberspace, but I have designed the cards that they sit on.

One reason I love punch art is because it extends the usefulness of my punches, and allows me to create unique embellishments for my cards and scrapbooking pages. Stampin' Up! currently sell 36 different punches and both of these cards only use 12 of them! Although I have been in love with Stampin' Up! for over a year now I have yet to complete my punch collection - but I'm more than half way there! How many punches do YOU own??

Owl Recipe:
Ink: Old Olive, Chocolate Chip
Paper: Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie, Close To Cocoa, Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla
Punches: Wide Oval, Scallop Circle, 5 Petal, 1" Circle, 3/4" Circle, 1/2" Circle, Round Tab, Boho Blossoms, Designer Tag
Stamps: Seeing Spots, Short & Sweet
Other: Vintage brads, cork, goggly eyes, Dimensionals

Lamb (cased from here) Recipe:
Paper: Almost Amethyst, Whisper White, Chocolate Chip, Pink Pirouette, Creamy Caramel
Punches: Scallop Circle, Wide Oval, Scallop Edge, Boho Blossoms, Word Window
Other: Basic Black marker, White Gel Pen

Get ready for Christmas!

2009-10-13T00:16:00.007+13:00

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Christmas is just around the corner, and this year's Christmas is going to be EXTRA special because I will be spending it with my nephews and niece in Australia!!! Yes, I'm leaving on the 17th of December for Sydney! I'm really looking forward to having a Christmas with kids (because, after all, isn't that what Christmas is all about!). I'm a little bit worried about the heat (!!) but am starting to get even more worried about just how much I have to do between now and then; cards, presents, decorations - it's enough to make my head spin!!

Luckily I found some gorgeous easy to make ornaments on Gretchen Barron's blog, so I've got the tree sorted! I also made some of these ornaments for our Creative Inkers team swap on Saturday, which happily also had a Christmas theme, and put them on a little Christmas tree so that the other ladies could each pick one and leave behind a swap for me under the tree.

These gorgeous little origami ornaments are made using the lovely Ski Slope DSP paper ($19.95 for 12 sheets) from the Spring Mini Catalogue, which is only available for another 6 weeks. The advantage of using double-sided paper is that it is slightly thicker than regular paper and makes a sturdier ornament.

If you would like to find out how to make this then sign up for my FREE newsletter here. During the run up to Christmas I will be sending out regular Christmas bonus newsletters showing you a variety of quick and easy Christmas projects that even the busiest person will have time to do. And hopefully I will be able to fit some of them into my suitcase to take to Oz for my nephews and niece!
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Converting Cardmakers to Scrapbookers??

2009-09-30T13:24:00.005+13:00

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Hooray, I've managed ONE blog post in September!! Sorry I have been such a slack blogger - as usual, life happened!

This month the Creative Inkers Team Challenge was to create a scrapbooking layout or project that would appeal to scrapbookers using Stampin' Up! products. One aim of this was to maybe convert some of our cardmaking customers into scrapbookers. Personally, I have had no problems converting the cardmakers to scrapbooking, but converting scrapbookers to cardmaking is another story! For that reason I created the following page which I cased (an anagram for "Copy And Share Everything") from the Spring Mini Catalogue (page 17) using the wonderfully masculine set Uncharted Territory ($40.95).

To get the effect shown on the card I was casing I firstly stamped the images onto acetate using StazOn Cotton White ink, then stamped the highlighted areas onto colored cardstock before cutting them out and adhering to the back of the acetate. I used a torn piece of Pacific Point cardstock to make the ocean and there you have it - a scrapbook page cased from a card!

I also used the stamp set Enjoy Every Moment ($62.95) to create the title and journalling block, and the background card is the very funky Ballet Blue - not a very masculine name but a very masculine colour!

I am holding a scrapbooking class this Sunday, 4th October, so please contact me to book in if you would like to become a scrapbooking convert!

When the cat's away....

2009-08-23T18:00:00.005+12:00

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The mice make cards!! The last 'Cat's Away Challenge' was to make cards for the three lovely ladies who have been away in Noosa, and what better than some cat cards! You may recognise one of the cards - it was my entry for the Corrosive Challenge #25. These are the three cards I made for Jacque, Patrice and Rachael:

All materials are from Stampin' Up! except for the Penny Black cat stamp. The greeting and background stamped on the Kiwi Kiss card here are from the set Cheers To You, which goes perfectly with the cat sipping a mocktail.

In the next two cards I changed around the layout and colouring, using my aqua brush to get a cool (and easy!) watercolour effect from my ink pads.

I haven't decided who is getting which card yet, but I sure hope Jacque, Patrice and Rachael enjoy them and that they bring back fond memories of their time in the sun!

Corrosive Challenge #25

2009-08-23T09:15:00.005+12:00

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A very hurried post as I am late for my scrapbooking class! This card is part of two challenges; one for our demonstrator forum and the other for the Corrosive Challenge #25. Gotta love those cats ay!! More later, gotta run!!

Very Popular Workshop Card

2009-08-19T08:00:00.002+12:00

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My lovely upline Jacque and two other members of the Creative INKers team earned an all-expenses paid trip to Noosa through their hard work demonstrating Stampin' Up! products last year, and while they are away the rest of the team is keeping busy with challenges to do in their absence. Our first challenge is to blog a popular project from one of our workshops, and this one immediately sprung to mind!

This card was a very popular one at the two workshops I demonstrated it at. It features the classical set Baroque Motifs ($46.95), a stunning set for use in both scrapbooking and cardmaking.

This card was shamelessly CASED off Splitcoast Stampers, the fountain of a lot of my inspiration for the projects I make. Here is a pic of the card partially opened - I just love gatefold cards!

This card has inspired many of my customers to buy the Baroque Motifs set, and also the Chocolate Chip cardstock ($12.50 for 24 A4 sheets). Actually, Chocolate Chip is my favorite cardstock, as it goes with any other colour; it's practically neutral! The other colours used are Almost Amethyst and Very Vanilla, and I used the slit punch to create the closure for the gatefold bar. I even managed to type out some instructions for this project, so if you want a copy then please feel free to email me!

Pretty.... easy!

2009-08-04T18:00:00.004+12:00

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This is another card I made for the Spring Mini catalogue launch I held at my home on the weekend. Because of my supreme organisation and time management skills (NOT!!) I had to make most of my samples in a hurry at the last minute (obviously being in the Brownies and Guides with their motto 'Be Prepared' didn't rub off on me!). Luckily the stamps in the Spring Mini make it really easy for people like me to whip up a card in a hurry, which is exactly what I did!

This card uses two of the new sets; Soft Summer ($48.95) and Great Friend ($37.95). Soft Summer is a two-step stampin' set, which means you can stamp the outline and the body of the image separately (i.e. in two different colours). This is what I have done on the flower, with the image stamped in black Stazon and the body stamped in Pink Pirouette. I had originally intended to brayer or sponge the flower, which is why I used Stazon and gloss card, but the gloss gives a nice effect even if it is 'naked'! I used the body of another image from the same set to make a subtle background on the Almost Amethyst cardstock, by stamping on it with the same colour ink.

The sentiment and border from the Great Friend set is actually two stamps as well, and because the sentiment fits so tightly in the frame I needed to use a Stamp-a-ma-jig to get the positioning correct. Don't know what a Stamp-a-ma-jig is or what to use it for? Email me to find out! I then carefully cut this out and attached it to a strip of Pink Pirouette card and finished off with a flower brad (also available in the Spring Mini for $16.25 for a pack of 32). And there you have it, simple but easy peasy!!

Scary or Traditional? You Decide!

2009-08-03T18:00:00.004+12:00

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This fellow has caused quite a bit of debate among the other demonstrators in the team I belong to, with some saying he is scary and others liking him for the traditional feel he brings. What do you think? I was in two minds, but bought the set anyway (gotta get those Christmas cards sent early this year!) and now he's grown on me. I certainly don't think he's scary!

This was a really simple card to make, yet so effective. For the front I used Very Vanilla cardstock on Riding Hood Red, and used the matching ribbon to create a bit of elegance as well as tie the whole Christmasy theme together. The ribbon is newly available from the Spring Mini catalogue for $22.95 for a whooping 9 metre roll. To 'pop' the greeting up I covered it with Crystal Effects dimensional lacquer ($13.95), which gives a page pebble effect.

Inside the card I have used Very Vanilla for the inner panel, and have stamped the holly and greeting using Old Olive and Riding Hood Red ink. This set (Good Cheer - $46.95) is great value as you get a phrase for your card inner as well as the images.

Stay tuned for more peeks of what I've made from the new Spring Mini (have you got yours yet??).

It's a new month, and a new day, and a new catalogue

2009-08-02T20:44:00.008+12:00

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Oh dear, I've been a bad blogger! But it's a new month and I intend to change my ways, and what better inspiration than the new Spring Mini catalogue from Stampin' Up! I had a great launch party yesterday - wow, haven't had that many people in the house in years! I made some samples using the new sets, and my favorite one is this very masculine card:

The stamp is from the set Uncharted Territory ($40.95), which also includes a very cool lighthouse stamp. I've used the new Parisian Breeze Specialty DSP ($27.95), a textured cover-weight paper in delicious shades of Baja Breeze and Chocolate Chip, in this very simple but effective design. The yacht and sentiment are stamped onto white gloss card with black Stazon ink, and then sponged with Baja Breeze and Pacific Point inks, which are then polished off to give a soft look. The strip of Baja Breeze is attached to the layout with clear rhinestone brads and dimensionals to give additional depth. This design would be great for a scrapbooking layout too. I got it from a blog called Cat's Scratching Post.

Please contact me if you would like a copy of the new Spring Mini catalogue - it's packed full of great ideas and inspiration, and best of all it's free!

Pun Fun Waterfall Card

2009-06-14T19:15:00.003+12:00

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It's been another busy day today, with one workshop done and dusted! We made the following items at the Cards and More workshop today:

A flower pot card
An origami box
A cute baby card featuring a punch art lamb
A card using the the gorgeous Friends 24-7 set, heat and stick powder and Aqua Super Nova glitter
A tri-shutter card using the Haiku designer series paper.

I haven't had a chance to photograph any of them yet, but here is a card we made at last month's workshop:

This is a classic waterfall card; when the tab is pulled down the three images flip over to reveal each other. I have used the animals from the new Pun Fun set - really easy as I mounted the accompanying words separately on the end of each block. The sentiments are stamped using the very versatile set Short & Sweet - a great set to use with the circle, oval and label punches!

All going well with the weather I will photograph this month's projects and post them here soon. If you would like to know how to make any of the projects shown on my blog please contact me, and I'll gladly send you instructions or links to resources I have used. Thanks for looking!

Waterfall card Recipe:

Cardstock: Pink Pirouette, Whisper White
Ink: Going Gray, Baja Breeze, Pink Pirouette
Stamps: Pun Fun, Short & Sweet, Cupcakes
Accessories: Silver brads, Pink Pirouette striped grosgrain ribbon

Cheers To You!

2009-06-11T14:44:00.006+12:00

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I love the new In Colors, and the ease with which they go together! I created this really quick and easy card in next-to-no-time using ONLY the In Colors (plus a little bit of Whisper White!):

The main color in this card is Kiwi Kiss, a colour I wasn't too sure about at first but now love. I gave the card a retro feel using the 1/2" circle punch to create a border of Kiwi Kiss and Pacific Point (a real 'ooh-la-la' combo), and finished it off with a dab of Dazzling Diamonds in the middle of each punchie. The greeting is punched out using the Designer Label punch, with a bordering 1 3/8" circle punchie. The Pacific Point striped grosgrain ribbon just finishes this card off nicely! It also occured to me after I made it that it could pass as a 'male-friendly' card, especially if I had used the handle of beer image from the Cheers set!

If you don't have these colours yet then what are you waiting for?? Contact me NOW to order the matching card and ink pads. For those of you who bought the latest Stampin' Up! catalogue from me, the voucher for this month allows you to buy four ink pads and receive a fifth blue one for free! But if you didn't get a voucher book don't worry, you won't miss out. For this month only you can take advantage of the same offer if you email me and mention that you saw this offer on my blog! So... what are you waiting for??

Another Swap!

2009-06-09T01:34:00.005+12:00

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I love this Top Note die! It is made exclusively for Stampin' Up! by Sizzix, but sadly is not yet available in NZ. However, I live in hope that it will be coming to NZ soon - maybe in one of the mini catalogues that are due out on 1st August, 1st December and 1st April (2010). I can dream!!

The theme of this swap was 'Your favourite card layout', and at the moment this is my favourite! I'm pretty fickle though, so my favourites change quite regularly!! I have used the stamp set Spring Song for this card. As soon as I saw it in the catalogue I fell in love with it and knew I had to have it! All three stamps from the set are used in this card - they just go so well together. The set costs $30.95 so is great value for money! LOL - but can you tell I have never seen a hummingbird before in my life?? I chose to use only the current In Colors on this card, so please forgive me if the bird is not colored in correctly!

Here is the recipe:

Inks: Pacific Point, Riding Hood Red, Pink Pirouette, Baja Breeze, Kiwi Kiss, Tangerine Tango
Papers: Whisper White, Pacific Point
Stamps: Spring Song
Accessories: Eyelet Border punch, Top Note die (USA only), blender pens, sponge, Dazzling Diamonds glitter (to give it some BLING!)

My Team Swap

2009-06-06T18:00:00.007+12:00

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Whew! I've had one busy day! I taught a beginner's scrapbooking class at Kamo High School with six lovely ladies who hadn't scrapbooked before, and they did really well!! We made two and a half pages (one was the hinged page I talked about in an earlier post - with my god daughter in the Santa Parade - hence the 'half' page) and they got to take away enough materials to make a third page. It really took me back to the time when I first started scrapbooking, and I ended up digging out photos of the first albums I made for my nephews - scary stuff!!!

Anyway, so while I was busy working away other members of the Creative Inkers team (the Stampin' Up! team that I belong to) were busy attending a team training day in Auckland. I'm sorry I missed catching up with those of you who were there today, but I'm sure there will be other times. Here is a photo of my swap that I sent down for my team mates - I made 30 of these little purses in no time at all, so very fitting for the theme of the swap: "A Simple Workshop Demonstration Item".

And the purse opens to reveal a surprise... Kit Kat!! I'm not too sure how many purses will still be full by the end of the day though {wink, wink}. All I know is that they were lucky to get them as my auntie has taken a liking to Kit Kats since I started making these (she previously claimed not to like chocolate!).

If you would like the instructions for making this cute purse please email me at rmkaire@xnet.co.nz. Have a great weekend and keep warm wherever you are!

Raspberry Tart Double-Page Spread

2009-06-01T18:01:00.005+12:00

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Well, you might need to click on this photo to see the pages in their full glory, as I cropped it before uploading - it's so hard to take a shot of two 12x12 pages side by side!! This DSP is so girly, and perfect for some shots of my lovely niece Moana as she turned the big ONE! The photos aren't the best, but they just go perfectly with this paper. It's also not my usual style to make two pages symmetrical with each other, but it worked really well in this case.

Here's the recipe:

Papers: Whisper White, Rose Red, Kiwi Kiss, Raspberry Tart DSP
Inks: Rose Red
Stamps: So Swirly Jumbo Wheel
Accessories: Eyelet Border punch, 5 Petal punch, Boho Blossoms punch, Ticket Corner punch (USA only), Top Note Sizzix die (USA only), Silver Hodgepodge Hardware, White Gel Pen.