JAI #19 COLOUR CHALLENGE

Well, it's been a while since I have had the time to sit down and enter any challenges, but this week I scraped together enough time to enter the Just Add Ink colour challenge.  And here it is:

Now, while I have the card stock colours I needed, the only ink colour I had to match was Elegant Eggplant.  What to do!!  The solution I came up with is to paper piece my images.  To do that, you simply stamp multiple images on the different coloured card stock, carefully cut out the portions you needed and adhere to the base image on your card!  Easy peasy and really effective!

Now, these colours on their own are bright, but put together and you need your Sunnies on, lol!  So rather than make the card really over the top by adding embellishments, I chose to use only the colours for effect.  I also had the added interest of making an Easel card, rather than your garden variety stand alone card.  The stamp set I used is the new "Lots of Bots" from our Autumn/Winter Mini catalogue.  A really cute and male oriented set and great value at $29.95 for the set of 5 stamps.

BIRTHDAY BOTS

Coming up with cards for males can be quite a job.  The Lots of Bots stamp set takes care of that.  After all, what male doesn't like nuts and bolts!  This little set has some great art work, and at $36.95 (for wood mount) or $29.95 (for clear mount), it is really affordable too.  Add a little hardware, in the form of a metal tag, and there you have it!

Our Winter Mini is packed full of delicious new stamp sets like this one.  Stampin' Up! are always thinking of it's customers and what works best for them.  Watch my blog each week in June to hear about the fantastic specials being run each week.  Be quick to place your order with me if you see something you like though.  These specials are only available in the week they are run and will not be back dated.

As if that wasn't enough to be happy about!  Stampin' Up! have also discounted the Start Kit until the 31st of July.  There has never been a better time to join my team and take advantage of the heavily discounted kit.  The full value of this Starter Kit is $655.00, but now you can purchase it for only $299.00!!

Whether you want to run your own business, as I do, buy for yourself, friends and family only, or just want a great bargain, then now is the time to do it.  Email me for more information today!  I would love to have you on my team.  You have nothing to lose and so much to gain!

BIRTHDAY CELEBRATIONS

I recently celebrated my Birthday, and ended the note with my trip to Sydney.  What a birthday!  I thought I would share with you a couple of the lovely cards I received from fellow Demonstrators and friends , Diane Taylor and Bron Heslop.

This  gorgeous card was made for me by Diane Taylor using the Vintage Vogue Clear Mount stamp set.  She just had to throw my favourite colour "Kiwi Kiss" in the mix too!  Thanks Diane!

This fancy folds card is called a "Side Step" card and was made by Bron Heslop.  Bron has used Old Olive colouring, teamed with the Cottage Wall designer series papers.



Thank you so much girls, for your Birthday wishes and the gorgeous cards made especially for me.  Love you both - Mwah!

BACK TO REALITY

After all the glitz and glamor I have enjoyed over the last week, reality has hit with a bang.  I had a call this morning asking for a Sympathy Card to be made for a friend.

These are the hardest kinds of cards to do.  I got my thinking cap on and came up with this card.  Even though it is for a sad occasion, I am really pleased with it.  I think it strikes the right cord, but still looks amazing.  Can't get one of these in your ordinary card shop!

On a happier note, I see the Convention returning Demos are posting a host of pictures on the net for you all to oogle!  I am going to keep it short and sweet.  Here are a couple of highlights for me:

Bonnie Thurber is the Director of Demonstrator Training.  She is incredibly talented and hugely funny!  The poor women had to do a presentation to the entire gallery of Demo's with laryngitis!  She pretty much had to whisper her whole presentation.  Poor woman!

We had a lot of training both as lectures and demonstrations.  Here is Jacque Pedersen (Auckland) running through her presentation.  I don't know how she kept so calm, not only in front of a few hundred Demo's but also with the cameraman hanging over her shoulder!  All the presenters were fantastic!

Jacque is also my Up-line.  I live in Wellington and Jacque in Auckland, so it was fantastic to finally spend some fun and crafty time together!  Jacque was also the 2010 Top New Zealand Demonstrator of the Year.  Congratulations Jacque - we were all very proud of you!!

I also got to meet many of my team members, who I know well Cyberly, but had never met in person!  It was great meeting you all and I can't wait til June to catch up in Auckland with you all again!  We were so lucky and received so many goodies at Convention.  Karen Rogers and Sally Williams are grinning from ear to ear over the stamp sets they won!!

BEEN AND GONE!

Can you believe it?  The trip to Sydney Convention 2010 is over after months of planning!  What a time it was.  Wish you all could have come with me!  I have come home amazed, excited about this great business, and totally inspired by the wonderfully talented demonstrators I have met.  Not to mention quite a bit of product heavier too!

The biggest highlight for me was meeting the other members of the wonderful team I belong to, in Creative Inkers.  Had to go all the way to Sydney to meet my fellow Kiwi colleagues!  I also had the wonderful opportunity to meet with the Stampin' Up! team who run things behind the scenes.  I am so glad I did not miss this event, but will be glad to catch up on some sleep now :-)

We all got the chance to Glam up too with the Awards Dinner on the Saturday night.  We were all welcomed on the Red carpet with the essential Paparazzi present to record the event.



My two "besties" Diane Taylor and Bronwyn Heslop just looked so beautiful!!

Of course, I was not going to turn down a photo opportunity with Shelli Gardner, CEO and co-founder of Stamp' Up!  She is a beautiful and gracious lady, inside and out.



I have a lot of photos to wade through, but wanted to show you all how much fun I have had over the last 5 days.  Was well worth the huge effort to crank out those 85 swaps I made!!

SOFT SUEDE TREES

One of the most versatile sets I have in the SU range is "Lovely as a Tree".  You can build scenes with this set, it is great for male oriented cards, just because cards, and even Christmas cards.  I love sets that have multiple uses.
In the month of June, I will be holding a couple of classes to spotlight this wonderful stamp set.  Keep an eye on my upcoming events, and register your seat to see some of the delicious projects you can create with just one stamp set.

In the meantime, this is a wee card I demonstrated at the workshop I held for a lovely group of ladies yesterday.  This wee gem doesn't need any embellishments, so makes for a lovely cheap card to make, but with a lot of WOW anyway!  Of course, I can't demo anything without breaking out my sponges!  Using a post-it-note to mask the moon and sponging Soft Suede on Very Vanilla card stock, I very gently darkened the bottom of my Vanilla card.  Removed the mask and stamped my Pine Tree image repeatedly to create the "forest".  A simple sentiment and Viola!  All Done!

Stamps:  Lovely as a Tree, Sweet Little Sentiments
Inks: Soft Suede, Basic Black
Card Stock: Soft Suede, Basic Black, Very Vanilla, Sahara Sand

AND ON THAT NOTE.......

Well, it has been a while since I have been able to sit down and do some of my own artwork (in the shape of sponging, of course!), but I finally got a small window of opportunity last weekend!  A few months ago, I created an altered note pad as a team swap, and had a huge response to it.  I thought I would do another, which I plan to use as my door prize for a workshop I am taking this Saturday.  Let me know what you think of the birdie!!!

I have used the new 2 Step Bird punch available in the Autumn/Winter Mini catalogue.  I have seen so many wonderful projects used with this punch - and not restricted to birds either!  A great value and versatile punch at $35.95. 

Altering your own items makes them so personal and great to give as gifts.  Whenever I go shopping, I am always on the look out for things I can either recreate or alter!  I would love to get something like this, if I knew it was made especially for me!!  I also plan to have some of these pads available for sale at the Upper Hutt Crafters market, which is on the first Saturday every month.  Why not drop in, say Hi, and pick one up for someone special?

POTS OF COLOUR

I taught a class in the weekend on flower embellishments and just had to show you one of the projects my ladies made with the embellishments they learnt.  It is called a "Flower Pot" card (don't know why!,lol).  This was the first one I have ever made and yet I have seen many gorgeous examples on the net.  I was pleased with how my first attempt turned out!

The flowers have now been done by so many people, that I have no idea who actually came up with the originals, but THANK YOU, whoever you are!

The Carnations were made with 8 layers of tissue paper and once put together I dragged them through an ink pad to get the variegation effect going on.  The Pansies were punched with the Butterfly Punch (which you can still purchase at $39.95) on watercolor paper, then I used my Aqua Painter to fill in the colour.  Watercolour paper works so well for soaking up ink as it acts like a sponge.  Once you know how to make these little beauties, you really have no excuse to buy embellishments when you can make your own.  If you couldn't make this class, but would like to know how to make these flowers, I am happy to bring the class to you!  Just email your interest and I will give you more details!

IT'S IN THE BAG!

I am teaching a workshop for some crafty crafters on Monday night and I thought I would share with you the "Door Prize" for some one lucky enough to draw it.  I always like to give an item of inspiration as my door prize.  This little bag is a great example of how to use your 12x12 papers on something other than a scrap book or card.  I got the tutorial from one of my team mates, Julia Leece, when I saw her creation on her blog.  Pop by and say Hi!  This is one of the easiest bags I have made!

I also like to include a couple of other items, normally a wee note card and chocolate!  Who doesn't like to receive freebies!! 

This wee gift is just one of the freebies my guests or Hostesses get to keep.  Why not book a workshop with me and get a little free inspiration too?!

MOTHERS DAY FOR MIL

I have shared with you the card I made for my Mother a few posts ago and now I would like to show you the one I made for my darling Mother-in-law.  She is 85 years old, and an amazing woman.  I love her to bits.

It is the first time I have used Asian Artistry, which is a new level 2 Hostess set.  It is a beautiful set and I knew I just had to have it!  You can have it too, with a qualifying workshop.  So, don't waste time - book your workshop with me today!
  I have stamped and coloured on our watercolour paper, cut out and used dimensionals to add three layers to the flower.  It is kinda hard to see in the photo, but it gives the image a real 3D look.  I have sponged Certainly Celery onto Whisper White card stock, darkening as I went toward one corner.

Stamps: Asian Artistry
Card Stock: Basic Gray, Whisper White
Ink: Garden Green, Certainly Celery, Close to Cocoa, Pink Pirouette, Rich Razzleberry
Accessories: Ribbon, Corduroy Brad, half Pearls, dimensionals, adhesive, sponges

FOR YOU, SWEETPEA

While I was blog hopping this morning, I came across a gorgeous tutorial for Sweetpeas.  Well, not only did I have to have a go at making them, but I had to share them with you also.  The very talented Judy Marshall from Canada created this tutorial and has some lovely projects.  So go pay her a visit!

I have a class on Saturday demonstrating and teaching how to make your own flower embellishments.  I can't help it, I just had to add this gorgeous card into the mix as well.  I hope may ladies are prepared to get nice and sticky, hehe!

TWO AWARDS IN ONE DAY!

Thank you Karen for nominating me for the beautiful Blogger award.  It is such a privilege to be considered for things like this.  The talent out there in cyberspace is phenomenal!!  In order to keep it I need to pass this on to 10 blogs that I think deserve the award and then list ten things about myself that you may or may not know.

The people I would like to pass this on to are so very talented, but I thought I would keep this separate from those I nominated this morning.  They are (in no particular order)

 Megan McDonald
Sharlene Meyer
Delys Cram
Anne Brignall
Julia Leece
Kelley Slattery
Sarah Klass
Debbie Lamb
Chantelle Randall
Amanda Redicliffe

Ten things about me you may or may not know:

1.  I love to teach cardmaking (I love telling people what to do!)
2.  I work part time for an Accountant, but my real job is Stampin' Up!
3.  I love to read before I go to sleep. 
4.  Stephen King and Dean Koontz are my favourite authors (no - I don't have nightmares!)
5.  I am team Edward through and through (What is it about Vampires?!)
6.  My favourite actor is Keanu Reeves
7.  My favourite colour is Black (although there are those who say black is not a colour, whatever)
8.  I have one sister.  Her birthday is the same day as mine although I am two years older (but better looking!)
9.  I am an Army brat and lived two years in Singapore when I was a little girl.
10.  I am left handed, but don't hold that against me!

Thanks for stopping by.  Now go and check out the fabulous blogs I have listed above.  Ciao!

SUNSHINE AWARD

Do you know, since I became a Stampin' Up Demonstrator I have met the most amazing and generous people!!  I am always in awe of how clever we crafters are when I see some of their blogs.  Today, I had the most lovely comment left on my blog and was awarded the Sunshine Award by the lovely Danielle!

 Thank you Danielle you have brightened up my week!

Here are the 'rules' for the award.

1. Put the Sunshine Award on your blog and/or within your post.
2. Pass the award to other bloggers.
3. Link the nominees within your post.
4. Let them know they received this award by leaving a comment on their blog.
5. Share the love and link to the person from whom you received the award.

The hardest part, of course, is narrowing it down!!

I would like to nominate the following people who always inspire me, motivate me, make laugh, and encourage me:

1.  Bron Heslop
2.  Diane Taylor
3.  Debi Ryan
4.  Jacqueline Pederson

I hope this award brightens your day girls.  It sure did mine!