Sunday's Stamp-a-stack

As I recently purchased an additional table to use for my classes and Stamp-a-stacks I can now fit a lot more people in.  So as a result I have plenty of room left in this Sunday's coming SAS.  If you are interested please come along.  We will be making 9 cards, three each of three designs.  And as a bonus each participant will get a surprise to take home with them to put together in their own time.  We will be using the Punch Pals stamp set ($56.95; IBC page 27) and the Ski Slope Designer Series Paper from the Spring mini.  Even though this paper is no longer available if you wanted to make more of these cards from home the Holiday Treasures DSP ($16.95; IBC page 134) would also be highly suitable.  The SAS is only $25 and you will be taking home 9 home made cards plus a bonus kit that will make a great gift for someone.  Email me if you are interested.
Cheers
Melanie

Being a demo

I just wanted to share a quick word on some of the wonders of being a Stampin' Up! Demonstrator.  On the weekend I got to share my love of stamping and creating with a wonderful bunch of women that I have met through my business. Not only did I share my ideas with them they shared their ideas with me.  Last Wednesday evening I got together with other demos from the area at Stampin' Up!'s field training which was another wonderful opportunity to share ideas and learn new things.  But the best thing of all, I got a stamp set as a result of paying for the training but on top of that I had a bonus of winning a stamp set as a door prize.  It was the Butterfly prints set which I love and coordinates with the Butterfly punch.  I have won a stamp set at every Stampin' Up! event I have attended so far.  I can't believe the luck of that because I never win anything.  :-D

Mel

The new Summer Mini Starts today!

Well the summer mini is here. Just click on the cover to the left to view the mini online.  There are so many cute new Stamp sets and accessories that it was hard to choose what to get and what to leave out.  I hosted a catalogue launch at my home for this mini on the weekend and every one who came had a great time and the new products were a hit.  The Sweet Treat cups were especially popular.  We made treat bags like the one you can see on the left of the catalogue cover.  When I mentioned that I was going to make them as lolly bags for my daughters birthday party in a few weeks one of my wonderful customers came up with a fantastic idea that I would like to share with you.  Once you have removed the Sweet Treat cup and enjoyed the contents you could then use the card or treat bag as a photo frame by sticking a photo onto the back of the hole where the cup used to be.  I thought that was such a wonderful idea.  I am going to have a go at this and post up some photos of the results when I get a chance.

One of the other samples you can see on the cover, the butterfly box uses another one of my favorite new Stamp Sets and accessories.  The Butterfly Prints set and coordinating punch make wonderful embellisments for cards, scrapbook pages or 3D items.  I am even going to use them to make cupcake pick decorations for my daughters birthday party that I mentioned before.  She loves butterflies and I have been hard pressed to stop her from running off with the ones I have been making.

Thanks for looking and I hope you enjoy the new mini as much as I do :-)
Mel

Altered tins

I recently bought some tins and altered them.  They are for use in my workshops.  One is for my lucky door prize forms and the other holds a heap of markers.  At some events I offer a free marker to anyone putting in an order of over $100.  These tins show the versatility of Stampin' Up! products and how to think outside just making cards.

This is my lucky door prize tin.  It is a pretty simple one.  I covered the tin in Kiwi Kiss paper from the Urban Garden pack of Designer Series Paper (IBC page 132, $16.95).  I used the Anywhere Glue Stick (IBC page 154, $7.50 for two) on both the paper and the tin, this meant that I had some "lubrication" to enable me to move the paper around and into the right position before the glue started to stick.  I then put some Sticky Strip (IBC page 154, $12.95) on the top overlap to make sure that the paper was securely held down.  The paper on the lid is from the Kiwi Kiss pack of Patterns Designer Series Paper (IBC page 135, $16.95).  These packs of papers are monochrome meaning that they only have one colour, in this case Kiwi Kiss, and white.  They are really handy for coordinating with other DSPs or just jazzing up a plain card.  The ribbon is from the Pigtails Ribbon Originals (IBC page 150, $27.95).  I love this ribbon it is very cute, I am very into polka dots at the moment.  The reverse side of this ribbon, which you can just see on the left tail of the bow, is white with Kiwi Kiss polka dots, rather than Kiwi with white polka dots so you can easily reverse it for a different look.  The white part of the flower is from the Pretties kit (IBC page 149, $55.95).  This kit contains over 300 pieces including 5 differnt sizes/styles of flowers.  They can be dyed with reinkers or coloured with markers but I left this one white to go with the monochrome colour scheme.  In the center of the flower is one of the Kiwi Kiss die cut flowers from the Blooms Again pack of die cuts (IBC page 144, $16.50) and a Kiwi Kiss Corduroy Button from the Spring Mini Catalogue (page 4, $19.50).  I cut out some reinforces for the holes where the handle goes through from Kiwi Kiss cardstock, using punches.  Firstly I punched a hole using the 1/8 inch hand punch.  Then I punched around that using the 1 inch circle punch. I always find that if I want use the punches to cut "ring" shapes like this it is easiest to start with the smallest shape and work upwards. It gives you a much larger piece to hold and is easier to line up correctly in the larger punch.

So that is my little tin.  As I said very simple but I love it.  Not sure how I am going to take it when the Kiwi Kiss retires next September and I have to redo this tin.  Maybe I can keep it for other things and make another one in one of the new In Colors.  I will post pictures of the other tin soon.

thanks for looking and happy stamping
Mel

Wow, I have been neglecting my blog in favour of my Newsletter. As you can see I have given my blog a new look.  It now looks a lot like my Newsletter with the same graphics and colours being used in both.  If you are interested in subscribing to my news letter which comes out at least monthly with details of the latest specials, classes and a new project or technique featured each month, you can get to the subscribe page here or use the mini form in the column to the right.  All your details are kept secure and can only be accessed by me.  I will never ever sell or give anyone else your details.

This is a set of cards that I actually did at convention.  It is a very cute little idea for a gift.  I love the Funky Forest stamp set (IBC page 99, $31.95) it is a very versatile and unisex set that can be used for just about anything.  There are four cards put into one of the large Cello bags (IBC page130, $9.50 for 50).  There is a piece of the Tangerine Tango Designer Series Patterns paper (IBC page 135, $16.95) cut to fit in the bag.  The Word Window punch (IBC page 153, $30.95) was used to punch a hole through both layers of the Cello bag and through the DSP.  Then a piece of the 1" Chocolate Chip Double Stitched Ribbon (IBC page 150, $19.95) is knotted through the hole.

I have been trying to add the individual photos below but they keep turning themselves on the side and then Firefox crashes so I think I will give up on them for the time being.  I will post something more later.

Have a good day and thanks for looking.

Melanie

Upcoming Events

Well it has been a busy few months. And now Spring is here. Floriade will be on soon and there are flowers out everywhere in my garden. And it is the start of what I think of as the social season. It is this time of year that everyone seems to start getting together with friends and enjoying themselves. So I thought I would let you know the relevant Stampin' Up! dates for the rest of the year so you can plan.




World Card Making day - this is a world wide event to celebrate creativity. It is on Saturday 3 October, so pull out your supplies and get a few friends together and get creative over a glass of wine or two. There will be a related special coming up from Stampin' Up! that will run through all of October.

Watercolor Wonder crayons - don't know how to use your crayons or only use them for basic water colouring? Here is a class full of different techniques with these wonderful tools. Sunday 25 October 2 to 5pm.

Boxes and Bags - have you seen some of the wonderful handmade boxes others have made and wondered how to do them yourself? We will be making 5 different boxes or bags through the course of this class and you will be able to take home the templates for even more. Sunday 22 November 2 to 5 pm. $25.

Christmas Stamp-a-stack III - Your last chance to finish your Christmas cards before it is too late to post them. Sunday 6 December 2 to 5 pm. $25

September Ribbon Special

September Ribbon Special



To show appreciation to all our customers and hostesses, we’re offering an exclusive ribbon bundle FREE with a qualifying purchase or workshop!
From 1-30 September, Stampin’ Up!® is giving you a FREE ribbon bundle when you...
Spend $100 on any
Stampin’ Up! products.
or
Host a $600 workshop.

The Bundle includes 9.1 metres each Certainly Celery 5/8” poly-twill ribbon and So Saffron 5/8” grosgrain ribbon.

Christmas Stamp-a-stack II

Christmas Stamp-a-stack II

The Christmas Stamp-a-stack in July was so successful that I thought we should do another one. After all most of us would send more Christmas cards than any other sort of card in the year. And we send them all at once so getting an early start and working on them consistently is the only way to avoid rushing in December to get them finished. We will be making 9 cards, 3 each of 3 designs.

When: Sunday 20 September, 2pm to 5pm.
Where: My place
How much: $25 includes all materials and afternoon tea.
Contact me to book.

Next Class

Just a quick post, wow two in one night. I have some spaces avaliable in my technique class coming up on Sunday (yes the day after tomorrow) so if you would like to come let me know. If you still want the pack I can order it for you after the class or you can just pay $15 for the class. Here are the details...

My next class is...

Embossing Techniques
This months class is a technique class. We will be doing a number of techniques:
- Embossing basic
- Embossing resist
- Emerging Colour

Get the class and a pack of all the materials you will need to do this at home for $110 (details below) or class only for $15.

Only $110 for the following class pack for you to take home:
- Petal Pizzazz Stamp Set (normaly $58.95)
- Versamark pad ($13.95)
- Gold or Silver encore pad ($16.95)
- Clear embossing powder ($8.95)
- Gold or silver embossing powder ($8.95)
- Embossing buddy ($9.50)
plus
- Special offer add the Heat tool $49.95 and get the powder pals for only $25.00
For a total of $184.95 ($215.40 value)
*Please remember that if you have any of these products already let me know and I can organise for you to get something different.

Date: Sunday 2 August, 2pm to 5pm.
Where: At my home, contact me for details

New spring mini catalogue

Hi there everyone. Wow it is dusty in here! Just kidding. Yep it has been a long time since I have posted. No digital camera has been a real drag but we have it back and I have photos to show. And they are of some of the samples I have made with the new spring mini catalogue that is available tomorrow.

This card is a straight CASE from the catalogue but it was so cute I just had to make it. It is done using the new Forest Friends set from the mini. It also has one of the new flower brads on it. You can't see the brad very well because the brad is Chocolate Chip like the card but they are very cute. The other colours used in the card are Bashful Blue, Old Olive and Close to Cocoa (the bunny). I will be posting more pictures of items made from the new sets and accessories in the next week. If you are interested in getting a copy of the new mini let me or click on the cover of the mini to the right to see an electronic copy.
thanks for looking and happy stamping
Mel

A word about Ebay

Ebay can be a wonderful way of building up your craft supplies. You can find so many different things and pick up some fantastic bargains. But "buyer beware" is doubly true when it comes to buying things at auction. Stampin' Up! demos are not allowed by the contract they have signed with Stampin' Up! to sell current product on auction sites like Ebay. Selling retired and no longer available product is perfectly acceptable and I usually have some retired items listed as I try to make room in my stamp collection for new acquisitions. If someone is selling current product please be cautious, it might be simply someone who has decided that they aren't interested anymore or have bought something they then decided they don't like but then again someone selling a lot of current product in unopened condition should ring alarm bells. You might not think it matters to you if someone is violating their contract or not but someone that has that little regard for the rules of the organisation they are a member of might not be the best person to deal with. The reason behind this ban on selling current product is because it undermines the business model of Stampin' Up! and is unfair to other demonstrators who do do the right thing. And the last and most important reason for being cautious of some sellers is because they are ripping you the customer off. Myself and many other demos have watched helpless while customers bid over and above the current retail price for sets they could buy from us. There is were two sets listed on Ebay (Forest Friends and Choo Choo) that will be available just next month for around $25 from any demo, Forest Friends sold for over $40 and Choo Choo for over $30. The seller is also ripping off customers on postage. Minimum postage to get items from a demo is $5.95 for an order up to $120 and then 5%, but the usual price for postage on Ebay is upwards of $6.50 for a single item. So please bid with caution on Ebay. If you find something that you would like, but aren't sure of, why not give your demo a call. She/he will be happy to let you know if the item is current or not, and if it is current what the current price for it is. You can then choose to bid or not and if you do bid you are armed with the knowledge to stop you from being ripped off.

Mel

Hostess tips

Well it has been a while since I have posted. Mostly because with our camera off for repairs I have not had any pics to put up to show you what I have been doing. Hopefully we will pick it up today so I will have new pics to put up soon. In the mean time I thought I would post something that I included in my last newsletter. With the current Stampin' Up! special for hostesses (get an extra $40 to spend on product when your workshop sales reach $600) I sent out some tips on how to host a successful workshop.

• Invite more people than you want to attend. Don't be afraid to invite people because you think they won't be interested they may just have never told you that they have an interest in stamping or paper craft, or they may just be interested in an evening/afternoon out having fun with some friends.
• Give a personal invite, give them a written invitation (I can provide you with Stampin' Up! workshop invitation postcards) in person or give them a call on the phone and follow up with an email.
• Show around the the catalogue. When you book a workshop you will receive a complementary copy of the 2009 Idea book and catalogue as well as a loan copy. Show these around, pass them around at work, playgroups or take them with you when you pick your children up from school. Actually seeing the products and the samples made with them can generate interest where there was none before. It will also provide the opportunity for anyone who can't actually attend the workshop to put in an order if they would like. Please note that orders need to be paid for before I can place them, so cash and cheque payments need to be given to me at the workshop. Credit Card payments are processed when the order is submitted to Stampin' Up!
• Contact your guests a day or two before the workshop to remind them about it and to keep the enthusiasm going.
• Be enthusiastic, if you are excited about the workshop then your guests will get excited too.
• At the workshop maintain your enthusiasm and have fun. Don't stress too much about a clean house, fancy snacks or making everything perfect. Your guests are coming to have some fun with you and the other guests and to do some Stamping.

So that is just some brief tips on how to have a successful workshop. And remember if you aren't happy to have the workshop at your house I am always happy to host it at my house for you.
Have a great weekend and happy stamping
Melanie

Recently one of my valued customers asked me about the Pretties Kit (IBC page 149, $55.95). She had one and was not sure "how to put it together?" So I thought I would do some samples with my Pretties Kit to show her. Unfortunately my Pretties Kit is starting to run fairly low. I don't have many of the flowers left. What I do have a lot left of is the pearls.

For those of you who are not familiar with the Pretties Kit it includes White flowers (50: 10 ea. in 5 sizes); White halfback pearls (30 small, 20 medium, 10 large); Cream halfback pearls
(30 small, 20 medium, 10 large); White round pearls w/ holes (30 small, 15 large); Cream round pearls w/ holes (30 small, 15 large); Clear round beads w/ center hole (10); Clear round beads w/ side hole (10), Clear teardrops (20), Clear round rhinestone brads (20 small, 15 medium, 15 large); Hat Pins w/ clutches
(10); Spacer beads (30). It is great value. Please note: the photo above is from the USA catalogue not the Australian one. The contents are the same but the price is different of course.

The flowers can be dyed using the reinkers or coloured with markers or the pastels. There are details on how to do this in the IBC.

Anyway so what do yo do with these. Here are some card samples I have made. There is a lot more than just cards you can do with this kit and I will put up some photos of other items when I manage to take some :-)
This was a very easy card to make but had great results. The only stamping is the dotted scallops down the bottom. I used the All Scallops (IBC page 105, $55.95) stamp set to stamp this using the Silver Encore pad (IBC page 156, $16.95) and then I embossed it using Sivler embossing powder (IBC page 154, $8.95) I then glued a single small white half pearl at the peak of each scallop. The flowers were punched using the five petal punch (IBC page 152, $30.95) in brushed silver cardstock (IBC page 130, $17.95) and vellum cardstock (IBC page 130, $12.50). I then layed them and finished them off with a large white half pearl from the kit. Oh and the base cardstock was standard Night of Navy. A very simple but very effective card.


This card is very soft and girly. I stamped the swirl image from the Priceless set (IBC page 92, $45.95) onto some vellum cardstock twice, using the Versamark pad (IBC page 156, $13.95) and then embossed it with white embossing powder (IBC page 154, $8.95). I then used the full heart punch (IBC page 152, $30.95) to punch the image out. I used some of the medium and a large half pearl from the kit to make the body and stuck the whole lot down on a sheet from the Designer Series Paper Candy Lane (IBC page 135, $16.95) that is layered on some white cardstock on a Pink Pirouette card. The greeting is from the Occasional Greetings set (IBC page 112, $60.95) stamped on white cardstock in Rose Red and punched out with the small oval punch (IBC page 152, $30.95). It is then put into a piece of the Styled Silver Hodgepodge Hardware (IBC page 149, $57.95) which in turn is attached to a piece of Whisper White Taffeta Ribbon (IBC page 151, $12.95).
Again this is a fairly simple but effective card and would be perfect for someone a bit girly.


Now this one is my favourite and also the most simple. It is Riding Hood Red cardstock. I just used my cheap little craft sewing machine to put a line of stitching through it. The flower is from the Blooms Again die cut flowers (IBC page 144, $16.50). One of the Very Vanilla ones. There is a large Cream coloured half pearl stuck in the middle. The greeting is from the hostess set Best Yet (IBC page 19, Level 1) stamped in Riding Hood Red ink on Very Vanilla cardstock and punched out with the new Wide Oval punch (IBC page 152, $30.95) and stuck on using some Stampin' Dimensionals (IBC page 154, $7.50) to give it some depth.

I love the monochrome colour scheme and the simplicity of this card. It is also well balanced and can be put together in no time at all.




For more ideas on how to use the Stampin' Up! Pretties kit have a look at these links:
http://geekgirl415.com/tag/stampin-up-pretties-kits/
http://stampinkins.blogspot.com/2008/11/stampin-up-pretties-kit-and-dsp.html
http://www.makeeshabyl.com.au/index.php/category/tutorials/pretties-kit-flower-hair-clips/
http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/gallery/showgallery.php?si=pretties+kit&x=0&y=0
http://www.mylifesart.com/2008/03/marker-basics-pretties-kit.html
http://www.handstampedbyheather.com/2009/04/parisian-pretty-trifold-card.html
http://lovenstamps.blogspot.com/2009/04/more-pretties-kit-flower-fun.html
http://andreawalford.com/?p=218
http://www.handstampedbyheather.com/2008/08/pretty-pop-up-card.html

So I hope that that has given you some ideas of what to do with your Pretties Kit. I will be making some more samples when I get a new kit and I will post some new photos then.
thanks for looking
Mel

These are the cards I have been doing in my workshops during May and June. The butterflies are stamped using the Gradiation technique which provides a blended change of colour from one to another. The first one didn't work so well but still looks great. The back ground is simply pieces of Designer Series Papers (IBC pages 132 - 135, $16.95 - $22.95) layered with some plain co-ordinating cardstock. The greeting is stamped inside a layered cut out made with the large and small oval punches (IBC page 152, $30.95). The stamp sets used were Garden Whimsy (IBC page 85, $45.95) and Basic Phrases (IBC page 117, $58.95).

If you would like to book a workshop feel free to contact me and I can show you how to make this simple but effective card.




This second card is simply the same card in different colours. It has been "stepped up" to give it that bit of extra something. In this case that something is some bling. I used the Sticky Cuts Sweet with the Fine Supernova Glitter (IBC page 145, $17.50 and $26.95 respective) to create the little glitter heart. I stuck this on the a plain piece of Whisper White cardstock cut out and layered it up with some Kiwi Kiss cardstock using the the 1" and 1 1/4" circle punches (IBC page 152, $20.95 and $30.95). I then put this on some of the Pacific Point Striped Grosgrain ribbon (IBC page 150, $19.50 a roll). If you would like to get some of this ribbon in all the In Colors but don't want to spend $117.00 for 6 full rolls of ribbon you will probably never use have a look at my Ribbon Clubs on the bottom right hand side of this page.

All in all these cards are so simple but so effective to make. Thanks for looking.

My class this month is a project class. We will be doing mini scrapbooks. These scrapbooks are so cute and easy to make. They make great gifts for Grandparents or you can give them to friends without photos for them to put their own in.

This is the scrapbook folded up. The ribbon just slips over the top. The one I saw made at convention just had a piece of designer series paper inside the frame on the front but I wanted to use all three of these gorgeous photos so I picked one that was mostly a silhouette for the front. I used the Sweet Always Designer Series paper (IBC page 132, $16.95) throughout the album and just picked up the colours from that.
The front and back covers of the album are pieces from the On Board Essentials (IBC page 147, $23.95) covered with the DSP on both sides. The colours from the DSP I used, Regal Rose and Pumpkin Pie went well with the clothes in the photos. On the cover I used some of the Flower Fusion (IBC page 144, $29.95) and a Rhinestone Fire Circle Brad (IBC page 149, $19.95) for the little flower on the front. The leaf is from the Planter box Rub-ons (IBC page 139, $19.95) on Pumpkin Pie card stock and cut out. The ribbon is just a piece of the Regal Rose 5/8" Grosgrain Ribbon.

This is the scrap book folded out. Inside has two trimmed down photos. The verse is one I found on the Internet , edited and printed out on some vellum Card stock (IBC page 130, $12.50). I love to use the vellum for this sort of thing as it allows the colour of the card stock behind to show through. I also used some of the Planter Box Rub-ons on it as embellishments. I punched some pieces of the Sweet Always DSP and put them behind the photos as faux photo corners. I was pleased with that, it gives the photos some framing without obscuring any of the photo. The flower is another of the Planer Box Rub-ons on Pumpkin Pie Card stock cut out with one of the white Button Latte (IBC page 151, $15.50) in the center to finish it off. The leaves were put straight onto the Regal Rose card stock that is the body of the album. The only stamping was the saying that is cut out and put under the second photo. It is from the Stem Sayings stamp set (IBC page 96, $39.95) and says "i made a wish and you came true!" which was perfect for how I feel about my daughter.

The back isn't pictured here but it is the circle frame piece from the On Board Essentials just covered in the same strip paper from the Sweet Always DSP as used for the photo corners with a piece of pumpkin pie in the center. I added one of the spare flowers I had made from the Planter Box Rub-ons on Regal Rose card stock in one corner just to finish it off.

I was really pleased with this little scrapbook and I can't wait to see what people attending my class this month come up with for them selves. If you are interested in attending the class please feel free to contact me.

Back to Basics class

Well I had to postpone my Back to Basics class due to act of germ, yep I had a bad head cold. I phoned everyone who was coming and asked if they still wanted to come while I was possibly contagious needless to say i spent the evening tidying up and went to bed early. I was prepared however so I thought I would post up some photos I have taken of the cards we will be doing in the class on Thursday. You will have to excuse the quality of the photos, my daughter knocked the digital SLR over while it was on the tripod and now it is in for repairs. These photos were taken with a loaner and they are a bit mediocre.

The last two are pretty much direct copies from the Idea Book and Catalogue. This one though is all my own work. It uses several techniques, back ground stamping, water colouring with markers and a brush, the scallop edge with holes punched out with the crop-a-dile in each scallop, glitter used with the sticky cuts to add a bit of bling. The stamp sets used were Pun Fun (the same in all the cards) and the background stamp Polka Dot. The colours are Kiwi Kiss, Pumpkin Pie and Rose Red. And the accessories used were the sticky cuts Sweet, Pumpkin Pie striped grosgrain ribbon, Circle Fire Rhinestone Brads and the fine Supernova glitter.

This one is a straight copy from the Idea Book and Catalogue. The only thing I changed was instead of stitching, it is a bit hard to take a sewing machine to class for everyone to use, I have used the paper piercer to pierce some holes in the corners of the piece of the card with the hippo on it. Anyway the details of what is used is available from the Stampin' Up! website.

This card uses a few different techniques too, heat embossing, punching and water colouring.






OK again this is pretty much copied straight from the Idea Book and Catalogue. I did use the paper clip from the Library Clips rather than just a regular paper clip. Instead of Kiwi Kiss Designer series pattern paper, which I don't have yet, I ran a piece of Kiwi Kiss card stock through the paper crimper to give it some texture and interest. I was really pleased with the result.

This card uses a couple of different techniques. Colouring a stamp different colours using markers. Cutting out shapes and layering to add depth and different colours.

All of the techniques in these cards are fairly basic stamping techniques, hence the name of the class "Back to Basics". It is too late for anyone to get the kit that goes with the class but if any one would like to come along and pay $10 for materials used I am happy to take some extras, seeing as I had to postpone the class.

Anyway in the mean time have some fun and happy stamping!

Mel

These are some cards I made to show off the new In-Colours at my catalogue launch. They only used four of the six In-Colours, Tangerine Tango, Riding Hood Red, Pacific Point and Kiwi Kiss. They worked so well that I ended up making a heap for convention swaps.

I couldn't use the Flower Brads for the convention swaps so I used the Three Flower punch to punch out flowers out of the In-Colour card stock and put a contrasting flower under a silver brad in place of the flower brad.

They worked really well and everyone seemed to prefer them to my other swap card.

Convention Swaps

The swaps were happening fast and furious from the first moment I got to convention on the Friday morning. My guest Tanya and I were kept very busy handing them out and receiving some absolutely gorgeous cards in return. One of my swaps was much more popular than the other. I am not surprised I was not very happy with it and I am afraid it was a bit poor against what other people had done.

Anyway here are some of the swaps I received.

This would have to be one of my favorites. It is so simple and yet very bright and colorful. I love this set, Fifth Avenue Floral (IBC page 82, $45.95) and I am going to have to get it out and do a lot more with it.








This one is not really my style but I always think that even if you don't like something there is always something you can take away from it. In this case I like the combination of colours and think that the black larger flower makes a great back ground for the small flower. The larger flower was punched using the Five Petal Flower punch (IBC page 153, $30.95) and it is one of my favourite accessories.


I love this one. Again it is very simple but very effective. Plenty of colour which I love but could be done with a number of different stamp sets.










Again this is a simple card. They have to be for swaps as you have to make so many of them. I think this person went above and beyond the call of duty. How many of these gorgeous flowers did she have to cut out and add glitter to?










This is great. Perfect for a little boy. Especially my son. I am going to give him this when I am finished with it. I love how she made the patterned paper to cut the planets out of. I think this is an inspired card and so different to what everyone else did!





Well I am planning on posting up photos of some more of my own work next. It might have to wait until tomorrow.

Momento Mall at Convention '09

At Stampin' Up! Conventions they have items for sale in "Memento Mall". They are exclusive Stampin' Up! merchandise, most of which is not available at any other time. Here are some of the the items I spent my money on at MM. The first one is a sampler of all the Designer Series Papers (DSP) It is a great little idea. I don't have to buy all the papers to be able to show them to my customers. There is a small square of each sheet in each pack of DSP available in Australia. There is a small index card between each range that has the name and relevant details of each set of paper, including the co-ordinating colours and stamp sets.









One of the other items I got was this cute little umbrella. It has a pattern from the Fifth Avenue Stamp set (IBC page 82, $53.95) which I love. It is a great size, perfect fit for the pouches either side of the convention bag.
I also got a spare convention bag, they were selling off the extras, some pens, a pencil case patterned like the Raspberry tart DSP and a gorgeous short sleeved cardigan that has one of the images from the thoughts and prayers set (IBC page 48, $45.95) on it. I am wearing the cardy today and I love it.

Finally photos

Well after some work figuring how to use the digital SLR here are some photos.

This first one is one of the Make and Take projects that we did at convention. I didn't actually get to finish this one on the day but I was so enthusiastic after everything we learned at convention I came home on the Friday night and finished everything.

This one is very simple but is so cute. It is simply a piece of Tangerine Tango Designer Series Paper (DSP) cut to size to fit inside one of the medium sized cellophane bags. You put it into the bag and use the word window punch to cut a slot through all three layers. Then you make the little love note cards. Each one has a different tree from the Trendy Trees set (IBC Page 99, $31.95 plus P&H) set stamped on it with one of the greetings from the same set. They are on Baja Breeze texture card stock cards.

This is such a simple thing to do but makes such an effective little gift. I am going to use things like this as hostess gifts from now on.


Now this is a card I made for my Mum to give her partner for his 60th birthday this week. I used the set that I won at convention, That's Funny (IBC page 55, $41.95). I needed to make it fairly masculine so I used a piece of the DSP Urban Oasis (IBC page 135, $16.95 for 12 sheets). These papers are on special this month, May '09, buy three packs and get a forth for free. I used the colours from the paper for the rest of the card, Baja Breeze, Kiwi Kiss, Kraft, Basic Black and Basic Gray. A bit of Kiwi Kiss ribbon and one of the Kiwi Kiss buttons from the Button Bouquet (IBC page 151, $15.50) finished it off. I did think of "Stepping it up" as we were shown at convention a few times but Mum didn't think any "bling" would suit him. So I left it fairly plain. I am pretty pleased with the results.

Well given the hour I think I need to do some tidying up and head to bed but I will be putting more photos up shortly.

Working hard

Well you might have noticed that I have put in some work on my Blog. As you can see there is now current Stampin' Up! promotions and information included on the site. Tonight I am about start work on putting up some photos of my own work and some links to useful sites.

I would also like to advertise that I am selling off some of my used stamp sets and some of the spare retired hostess and Sale-a-bration sets. I have them listed up on ebay (http://shop.ebay.com.au/merchant/nixy_brown_W0QQ_nkwZQQ_armrsZ1QQ_fromZ). I have many more than I have currently listed so if there is anything in particular that you are looking for please get in touch with me and I will let you know if I have it.

Anyway on with the work and you will be able to see some examples of my own work soon.

Mel

The day after SU Convention 09

Well this is my first Blog. It is Sunday morning after convention. Oh Boy do I feel tired. I got home last night and collapsed into bed. But I had a great time at convention and can't wait for convention in Sydney next year. I am so glad it is in Sydney, only two hours up the road and very achievable for a Canberra local like me.

I was so impressed by Convention. The quality of the presentations, classes and information provided. It has got me all fired up to get moving and become more than "just" a hobby demo. So my goals for this month are to get organised for the two workshops I have coming up this month and next. To get organised for the classes I have been thinking about running for the past 6 months and to get moving on promoting my business.

Right now I need to go and spend some time with my family and, hopefully, getting some housework done but once the kids are in bed tonight I am going to be getting stuck into organisation mode!

Mel