This week I was the lucky recipient of some beautiful cards instead of the usual bills and junk mail in the letterbox. Many of them were cards from my stamping friends.

It is always such a buzz to receive handmade cards. You can’t help but think about the time the sender spent making that card as well as the care, thoughtfulness and generosity of the maker. It also reminded me of why I love cardmaking as a hobby – and that I *really* should send more cards. I do have a habit of making cards but not getting around to sending them! LOL

And for a little chuckle, below are some gorgeous works of art that my 3 cherubs made – yes even the 2 yr old stamped a birthday card for Mummy. My son’s card is in the middle… he designed his own spring/pop-up card. Not sure if the photo does it justice but when I open the card the pink heart bounces. He even did the writing on the left side of the card so it wouldn’t ‘get in the way’ of the heart. Awwww. Little stampers in the making!

Tomorrow I’ll be back with a very exciting post. A NEW special offer just in time for the festive season… and it’s GREAT!!!!

Happy stamping,

All images copyright Stampin’ Up!. Cards made by (from top, left to right) Jenny Adams, Jenny Myerscough, Lisa Beard, Janine Rawlins, Juliana Main, Tanya Kitto, Debbie Hand.

I LOVE making 3D papercraft projects like bags and boxes, totes and tags, ornaments and other objects! So… you can imagine how excited I was when I saw these projects at our recent Melbourne seminar for Stampin’ Up! demonstrators. They were created by some of the amazingly talented demonstrators in my team.

Juliana‘s Bug Wagon had me oohing and aaahing all day! Now, this was a one-off, she tells me (yes, I’ve already asked for the template!) but it just goes to show what you can create with a little imagination.

Here is Maureen‘s Christmas Box, complete with acetate window. Love it!

 And continuing along the chocolate theme (*mmm yum*) is Janine‘s very cute surprise Caramello Koala card. On the outside it looks like a cute card….

but open it up and…. "Surprise". A yummy treat peeking through the window.

And below is Shannon’s swap – where origami meets cardmaking. Very clever.

A big highlight at Regionals was meeting my Secret Sister in real life! Jenny Adams (yes, we had the big reveal at the start of October) is the mystery lady who sent me those beautiful hand-crafted works of art that I’ve been sharing here on my blog for the past few months.

And here is the final parcel that she sent me, revealing her identity (see below). It was waiting for us when we got home from the UK. There was even a covered Kikki K To Do list in there. How did she know I LOOOOOVE Kikki K stuff? Thanks Jenny!! You’re the best!

Wow, that was a big post. Hope you got some inspiration from looking at all these cute projects.

Don’t forget, it’s not too late to enrol in the Christmas Card class for this Friday, 30th October. Contact me for more details.

I’ve had lots of emails this week about a technique I demo’d at Regionals, where you create a matching pair of candles by mirror imaging. It seems I forgot to put them in the photo on the last post, so here it is today. Very very easy technique (gotta love that). The tissue paper is so thin that when you stamp on it the ink often goes right through onto the scrap paper! The advantage of this is that you can flip the tissue paper over and the reverse is just as clear as the front, with no loss of quality or colour intensity. Fun! I’ve finally finished the hints & tips sheet, so let me know if you want a copy.

There are still a few spots left in our Christmas Card class for next Friday evening, October 30th. And a new stamp club is starting on the 2nd Friday evening each month, from November 13th – very limited opportunity so get in quick if you are interested in joining a fun group of ladies each month for some R&R. It’s a great opportunity to learn new techniques, develop your stamping skills, have a laugh, and take some time out for you.

I’ll be back soon with some great project ideas that team members shared with me at Regionals, and also the Secret Sister final update! I’ve been taking lots of photos and have heaps of cute things to share.

Happy stamping,

 Hi stampers! Well we’re back home from our visit to Melbourne yesterday for the Stampin’ Up Regional training day, and as expected it was a real hoot. A big hello to all the gorgeous, friendly, generous ladies I met there!

I don’t remember much from the morning because I was a teeny bit nervous (okay, petrified) about getting up on stage to do a Workshop Wow but that turned out to be a lot of fun too. Hollie from SU had left a message on my answering machine when we were in the UK, asking if I’d do a presentation, so by the time I got the message it had been sitting there unanswered for about a week! We finally caught up with each other and discussed options for a Workshop Wow, and candles seemed to jump out at us.

Here are the projects I demonstrated and displayed:

I’m typing up the notes (tips and hints for SU demo’s) that I based my presentation on, so if you would like a copy just click here to send a request. General technique information can be sourced from various online references, include SplitcoastStampers.

Decorating candles really is surpringly easy. Try it out and see how you go. If you muck it up, use that candle as your pracitice one until you get the hang of heating it for just the right time.

Happy stamping,

Ooh how exciting! I’m just putting the finishing touches on swaps that I’ll be sharing this weekend at our Melbourne training day for Stampin’ Up! demonstrators.

I’m soooo looking forward to catching up with friends and fellow demo’s, and meeting some of the new girls in our group for the very first time!

Some of my regular stamping friends (aka customers) are looking forward to the new swaps as much as I am!

Here are my swaps, well some of them at least…

This design is CASEd from the Spring Mini Catalogue and features the Good Cheer stamp set. One of my lovely hostesses requested this at a recent workshop, and I loved it so much that I bought the stamp set and have made *quite* a few. I changed the dimensions a little so the card will fit into our standard C6 envelopes.

Well, I’d better go pack and get ready. We have an early start in the morning and a *big* day ahead.

G’day! So great to be back home in Oz, although our trip to the UK was fantastic and we were sad to say goodbye to our family and friends there. There’s nothing quite like your own bed though. KWIM? DD2 and DD6 decided they liked being on Greenwich Mean Time and wanted to stay on it… so that meant sleeping half the day away and wanting to party all night! *sigh* Don’t you love jetlag?

Thankfully we’re over all that now, and have settled back to our normal routines at kinder-creche, school, sports, work.. and stamping!

I’ve had about 5 workshops, classes and events since we’ve been home so although it’s been very busy it has also been wonderful to catch up with my lovely stamping friends/customers. Thanks for being such an fun, bright part of my life! xx

Stay tuned for our regular blogging posts, updates on Stampin’ Up! specials, coming classes and stamping tips and techniques.

The project today shows what you can do with a bit of recycling in the craft room

What better excuse to use up those gorgeous Pretties Kit embellishments… afterall, you need the tin to decorate! LOL

Supplies Used: Sweet Sticky Cuts (p145 IB&C), Fine Supernova Glitter (p145), Pretties Kit tin (p149), Bashful Blue grosgrain ribbon (p151), Chocolate Chip wide grosgrain ribbon (p151), clear button (p151), Holiday Treasures DSP (p134).

Don’t forget to click on the "October Specials" tab at the top of this page to learn how you can choose a fab stamp at 20% off the regular price.

Happy stamping,