Hi there Welcome, and thanks for stopping by my blog today.

I know I've gone on and on about this Cottage Garden stamp set here on my blog… but I just love this set! LOL

Today's card share is a really pretty yet simple layout using Cottage Garden and featuring the delicious Rich Razzleberry, Pale Plum and Old Olive colours. A beautiful combo!

We're doing this card at a workshop this week (wave to Tanya and friends). Hmm, I think I might even add a touch of Dazzling Diamonds glitter. Yep, off to do that now.

Bargain Alert: Cottage Garden is 20% off until the end of July! How great is it that we can get this set for less than $20 for the unmounted version!

Happy stamping,

I love this little birdy from the Cheep Talk set. He's cute, and this stamp set is so easy to work with. And it's currently 20% off as part of this month's Two Step Stamp special! We are using this set at workshops during July (see cards below), and it's popular with everyone – beginners and experienced stampers alike. Here are a couple of simple cards perfect for beginners. They use the same supplies, but one is landscape layout and the other is portrait.

I love how this little guy even looks great as a simple no layer card…

I haven't had a chance to update you on our fab Team Day which was on Saturday. Our little country town didn't know what hit it. We had a lot of visitors that day all in the name on Stampin' Up! with team members coming from NSW, from the other side of Melbourne, and lots of other regional towns in Victoria. I'm so amazed that our 'little' group of EurekaStampers now number 50, and what a lovely group it is.

This is my fave photo, even though it cuts a few of us out ;( 
(but oh it was fun to watch Debbie jump up on the table to take this shot).

We did our own version of Prize Patrol (door prizes/lucky numbers), did Make & Takes using new stamps from the yet-to-be-released 2010-2011 Idea Book & Catalogue, swapped and generally had a lovely time. My favourite was watching some of the girls in our team get up and do demonstrations and interesting techniques. Lots of "wows" there!

We don't often get the chance to see each other face to face so it's always special when that happens. Thanks girls for making it a great day.

Stop press: You still have time to join Stampin' Up! while the Starter Kit is only $259 (from 1st of August it will be back to $324, which is still a bargain mind you) More info here. Join up with me or one of the team members in my group and you can join us at our next team day!

We are nearly at the end of school holidays here in Victoria – and it's cold and freezing. We've got both our open fires crackling away and the central heating on too! It's been great to spend extra time with the kids although I think we're *all* ready for school to go back on Monday! I'll be back to regular blogging again from next week.

Happy stamping,

Click on the flyer above to download your own copy (remember to check that you're looking at AUS prices).

I LOVE doing the two step with Stampin' Up! stamps, so 20% off two step stamps sure sounds like a great deal to me! It's fantastic to see two images work together to create a whole new look. If you'd like to see how these work, just contact me today and we can book a workshop with a Two Step stamp theme!

Oooh and did you notice on the flyer the little asterisks? (**) They show you which of the discounted stamps are retiring in less than two months (which means they will NOT be available in the next catalogue). If these great stamps are on your wish list then now is the perfect time to place your order before they are no longer available.

*From 2010 Autumn-Winter Mini Catalogue

**Retiring stamp sets!

Happy stamping,

Hi there!

Warning warning, very long post! But there is a project at the end of all this so feel free to skip ahead – lol.

Well it's been a while since I popped in for a chat, and I've missed the chance to say hi . June has been pretty full-on with our fab Deals of the Week, workshops, life and heaps of other great stuff.

I have to tell you something else that's been taking up my time lately and it's something I'm SO excited about: this weekend is my Stampin' Up! team's biannual get-together… and it's going to be HUGE! More about that later, but today I thought I'd share a little bit about why I love what I do.

When I first joined up as a demonstrator nearly 3 yrs ago I was focused totally on the craft of stamping. I'd always been 'crafty' having dabbled in cross-stitch, patchworking, glass painting and even latch-hooking (don't ask!!), but I've always loved papercrafting. I could happily spend hours (just ask my family!) browsing the stationery aisles and even as a kid I collected things like erasers/rubbers, cool pencils, scratch & sniff stickers – oh! the stickers I collected. My favourite thing was a giant pencil (as in, about a foot long) that had a little clear bag dangling off the end with 4 teeny tiny pencils in it. Soooo '70s, I know! lol. Check out a page from my very first scrapbook (I was 5 years old). It held… stickers, of course!

Ok, easily distracted. So I was saying about the early days of being a demonstrator. Well, I was new to stamping as such, so I spent hours and hours practicing and learning new techniques. Even now, I'm still amazed at the things you can do with ink, rubber, paper and glue and am constantly finding new ideas to try.

Anyway, joining Stampin' Up! has been a perfect fit for my life. We are tree-changers, having moved from the city to the country about 4 yrs ago and have so enjoyed a new relaxed pace of life. Being a demonstrator has given me the opportunity to meet sooo many people and make wonderful friends, which has been an unexpected and HUGE bonus. I couldn't imagine these special people not being in my life now.

So the team day on Saturday is something pretty important. Demonstrators who are in my downline will be coming from far and wide to spend the day together, and many I'll be meeting for the first time in person! If you have been thinking about joining as a demonstrator, now is the perfect time with the discounted starter kit and of course you'll also get yourself an invite to our team day! hehehe. Contact me for more details.

Our school holidays have just started so I've got all my lovely babies home at the moment. Yesterday was very special – it was the first time we took our youngest to the movies, which meant it was the very first time our WHOLE family went together We saw Toy Story 3 (oh how I laughed when Ken laid his eyes on Barbie and Dreamweaver started!) [To check out that scene click here and scroll down to the "Meet Ken" trailer].

So for something a bit different, here's a scrapbook page I made with one of my fave photos, taken during the last school holidays. I know, are you as shocked as me? Actually I do scrap but not often and have rarely (if ever!) posted my pages.

Happy stamping,

Throughout the month of June, we are bringing you a new deal every week! With the Deals of the Week, you'll get a great discount off a selection of products from the 2009-2010 Idea Book & Catalogue!

This week's special includes 40% off a great selection of gorgeous rhinestone brads and ribbons in two of our FAVE colours…

If you'd like to add some of these yummy accessories to your collection, just contact me before the end of June.

Happy stamping,

If you thought the past couple of Deals of the Week were great, then this one is going to blow your socks off!!

Check it out! Up to 50% off the following stamp sets… Seriously!

Quick, go grab your Idea Book & Catalogue and check out what the stamp sets are (the page numbers are listed in the table above). I think you'll be pretty darn impressed with these sets.

My 'take' on these stamps….

Enjoy Every Moment is one of those sets that are really popular with scrapbookers as well as cardmarkers. The images are big and bold, perfect on a 12×12, with a handy journaling block in there too. I always love a set that works well with punches – especially circle punches – so this set definitely fits the bill there!

A Happy Heart is a set that's really sweet, and don't be mistaken into thinking it's just for Valentines projects! This is a surprisingly versatile set (think baby card, wedding, birthday, pick-me-up card), and don't forget that it's perfectly co-ordinated with the Simply Scrappin' Kit on p138 of the IB&C called Love Sparkles.

Greetings Eight has been popular with beginner stampers and also the more experienced stampers who want to fill some gaps in their collection. It really covers loads of occasions and don't forget that you can use your markers to ink up only certain parts of each stamp if you want (this is called the 'omitting technique'), which makes this set even more versatile!

Bella's Bloom is a simple little set at a fab price! I have this set, and often use the 'from our home to yours' stamp. The classic looking flower looks great inked up with markers, or in versamark as a subtle background on the base card. (See card above)

All Scallops is a set that I bought the moment it was available, because I love how it works with the scallop edge punch (yep, my thing about punches again). I definitely need to use my Stamp-A-Ma-Jig, that miracle stamp positioner, to line the image up in the parts that are punched out, but it is really effective once you get the hang of it. It looks great when two or more stamps are used together from this set (2-Step Stamping) for an overlay effect, and again you'd be wanting the stamp positioner handy.  

Remember orders for any of these sets need to be given to me by Tuesday 22nd June 2010.

Happy stamping,

Hi everyone

It's taken a little longer to post these projects than I was planning, but better late than never. I'm glad I was able to sneak these in before the new Deal of the Week is announced tomorrow. Haven't these weekly deals been fabulous?

Both these gift packaging projects were created with my much-loved Sweet Slumber Designer Series Papers which are 35% off for just a few more hours (if you want to get some at the reduced price of $14.92 instead of $22.95 then let me know now!). This cardstock-weight textured DSP is perfect for boxes like the ones we make with the Big Shot and dies.  The one above is made with the Pillow Box die, and this next one is Stampin' Up!'s exclusive Fancy Favor die.

Thanks for visiting my blog, and for your kind comments and emails about the projects I share here. Your lovely messages always make me smile, this week especially, after the sad passing of our beloved 12 year old 'Charlie-dog' (if you've been a regular to my home for classes and clubs you'll know exactly who I mean!). It's amazing how attached we get to our four-legged furry friends, isn't it?

See you tomorrow for the next Deal of the Week.

This week's fabulous deal features a HUGE 35% discount off some of our lovely 12 x 12 Designer Series Papers.

Perfect for scrapbookers and cardmakers alike, these paper packs coordinate beautifully with the Stampin' Up! colours, and come in packs of 12 double sided high quality pages (2 each of 6 different designs!).

So here are the amazing prices which are ONLY VALID UNTIL TUESDAY 15th June. Please contact me before 8pm on Tuesday to order.

The Sweet Slumber Specialty paper is – as the name suggests – something very special. The pages in this pack have a beautiful texture and are much thicker than our normal Designer Series Paper (DSP). In fact it's almost like cardstock (but not quite!). I love making little 3D boxes with the specialty papers because they are just that bit firmer. They are perfect as the pages of mini scrapbooks and journals, too.

I'll be back to post some samples during the week, but for now here's a flashback to a fun Easter card I made this year – yep, featuring the Sweet Slumber textured DSP. I love this stuff!

Happy stamping,

Deals of the Week

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

Be sure to check my web site each Wednesday in June to see what new deals are up for grabs that week, then contact me to place your order!

This week’s deals:

*From Carryover flyer

Now that's a great deal! Contact me to place your order before Tuesday 8th June. 

(above) Trio Flower punch

(above) Scallop Oval punch

(above) Square Scallop punch

(above) Boho Blossoms punch

I love the layered flowers and 3D flowers you can create with the Boho Blossoms punch

If you'd like to see what's included in the kit, click on the Specials tab at the top of this page. If you'd like to know more about my story and how I became a demonstrator, just click on the About Me tab. To learn more about the benefits of being a demonstrator click on the Join Stampin' Up! tab. And yes, it's true… you don't have to do workshops if you don't want to! I'd love to chat to you about joining our team, so don't hesitate to drop me a line with your phone number and I'll call you right back.

Check back tomorrow for a slideshow of cards featuring Hostess Sets.

Happy stamping,