Hey stamping friends! Thanks for stopping by today. Grab a cuppa and come join me for a chat and a catch-up on all the latest news.

As I write this, we have wrapped up Easter for another year, a new school term has begun, and today we are honouring brave souls on Anzac Day.

With so much happening in all our lives and at such a fast pace, it’s good to remember that a handmade card from the heart still means so much. It’s a blessing in the creating and also in the giving.

Here’s a little recap of what’s been happening, and also some news that I think you’ll be interested in.

A Visit to New Zealand

I had the pleasure of crossing the ‘pond’ a week or so ago for our biannual Stampin’ Up! conference – #AucklandOnStage2019! What a blast.

I’d never been to New Zealand before so was keen to squeeze in a day of sightseeing. We went on a bus trip to Hobbiton and also an eerie boat ride in caves of glow worms. Amazing!

Can you see me in there behind the door of the Hobbit house? It was so much fun!

OnStage Auckland, April 2019

At OnStage we were given a copy of the upcoming 2019-2020 annual Stampin’ Up! catalogue. And wow, it’s a beauty!

These events are so much fun, and the experience of hanging out with hundreds of like-minded people is just something else!

I was thrilled to have about 25 team members from Australia join me in New Zealand, plus many more from the extended team. We shared a fun dinner on the final night.

One of the most special perks of these events is the leaders’ dinner. This year it was held at the Auckland War Memorial, and was a spectacular evening of mingling, fine dining and special treats.

New Product Suites

Here are a few sneak peeks of the display boards. We have some *really* exciting new products coming! These are just a tiny sample of all the amazing NEW products that will be launching in the new annual catalogue on June 3 2019.

If you’ve ordered from me in the past year, you’ll receive a copy of the new annual catalogue in late May. Make sure you get your orders in by the end of April to qualify for the free catalogue!

And I course I can’t finish my wrap-up of OnStage without sharing some of the gorgeous Make & Takes. All new products, including a few sneak peeks.

This card was my favourite Make & Take from Auckland. It’s from a brand new suite of products called Bird Ballad. It literally made me squeal with excitement when I first saw it.

I’m thrilled to be in the planning stages of a special class featuring this suite. Stay tuned for more info!

Coming soon: Limited Edition “Hugs From Shelli” Kit

This card was not only one of our gorgeous Make & Takes in New Zealand, but I’m excited to say that it will be available in an exclusive Paper Pumpkin card-making kit called “Hugs from Shelli”. This is a one-off and supplies are strictly limited.

Paper Pumpkin is a monthly papercrafting kit offered by Stampin’ Up! that is currently only available in the United States and parts of Canada. 

Because the “Hugs from Shelli” kit is so special, it is being offered as an exclusive, limited release in all markets from May 15. Yay! That includes us right here in Australia!

And in more news…

Well this has turned into an epic post. Here are a few reminders before I sign off.

• The Last Chance list (also known as the Retiring List) has been published. These are all the products that we know will NOT make it in to the new Stampin’ Up! catalogue. See them all here in a downloadable, sortable spreadsheet.
• As you may have noticed, the retiring items have not been reduced in price. We believe there may be some price reductions in May, but there are no guarantees. If you want something, get it now while you still can. Otherwise, stay tuned to see what (if any) bargains will be had closer to the launch of the new catalogue.
• The Clearance Rack has just been updated. See the amazing bargains in my online store here.
• Stampin’ Storage has been very popular, but unfortunately that means we’ve run out of stock of most of the new storage units. Be patient. They will be back.
• As you may have heard, Stampin’ Up! are retiring the Stampin’ Trimmer including all replacement blades. If you have purchased a trimmer through me, please reach out to me so I can let you know how I’m supporting my customers during this transition. The replacement blades will continue to be available for some time, but may be temporarily out of stock while we wait for the next delivery. They WILL be back in the online store soon. If you need some, and can’t order them, please contact me and I’ll help you out.
• On the 1st of May a brand new, limited edition product medley will be released called “Everything Is Rosy”. Melon Mambo, Night of Navy and Rose Gold…. stunning! It’s $139 for an amazing amount of products. (See below). Get ready to order on the 1st of May before it sells out.

Thanks so much for stopping by today to hear about some of the latest happenings. Don’t hesitate to reach out if I can be of any help.

And if you have a spare minute (or haven’t quite finished your cuppa yet), I’d love love love it if you leave me a quick ‘hello’ in the comments below. Just so I know you’ve stopped by.

Happy stamping, 

It’s that time of year again…

The Annual Catalogue is drawing to a close, and we’re getting excited about all the fabulous new products that are coming our way.

But before the new catalogue is here, we have a last chance to grab some of our favourite retiring products before they’re gone for E V E R!

Click here to
SHOP RETIRING PRODUCTS

<SHOP RETIRING PRODUCTS>

A couple of things to note:

• Don’t be alarmed when you see that the list of STAMP SETS is very long. It includes some sets that WILL be available in the new catalogue, but in the reconfigured cling-mount style. It’s just the wood-mount or clear mount versions that are retiring. If you love wood-mount stamps – this is your last chance to get them!
• You can see a full list of these transitioning sets here.

• Stamp sets are guaranteed to be available until May 24 but everything else is *while supplies last*.
• Seriously… some of these items will be gone soon.

• A reminder that the Stampin’ Trimmer and all associated accessories are retiring and won’t be available in the new catalogue. A supply of trimmer blades will still be available for purchase but are now limited to 6 packs (ie 12 blades) per order.
• Do you want to get your hands on NEW products and see the upcoming annual catalogue now? The best and only way is to join Stampin’ Up!. More info here.

• Would you like a copy of the new catalogue? Anyone who has ordered through my online store in the past year will get a complimentary copy of the new annual catalogue. Make sure you’ve placed an order to qualify! And don’t forget to let me know if you’ve changed address since you last ordered.

April host code: Z39W4DFC

Happy stamping, 

Exciting news today with the release of new storage options, designed to work perfectly with our ink pads, markers, refills and more.

Clean, fresh and bright white plastic storage

Designed to fit the new ink pads

Stackable, modular, customisable and totally flexible

Change the layout as often as you like

Reorganise to your heart’s content

Keep your supplies visible (so you’ll use them!)

If you’re ready to reorganise and tidy up your crafting space, then this handy document will help you plan which storage pieces you’ll need to fit your supplies.

Build your collection gradually over time, or get it all at once and earn Stampin’ Rewards. The choice is yours!

The best thing about this new system, is that it’s totally modular and totally customisable.

If you’re like me, and you like to rearrange your craft space to freshen things up, then this system will definitely work for you.

Here are some options:

Top your ink pad & marker storage trays with a storage topper to hold your ink refills (see Example 1, above).

Or finish it with a flat Storage Lid so you can use the space to display your cards or some pretty decorations.

Or even add in some Open Storage Cubes to hold ribbons or embellishments.

For more info, you can download the flyer (see below) or visit the Storage by Stampin’ Up! section in my online store.

Happy stamping, 

Tags: storage

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What’s CASE-ing The Catty? CASE stands for “Copy And Share Everything”. It means we use the ideas and inspiration from one project and apply them to another to create something altogether new. Each Sunday evening at 7pm AEST/8pm AEDT the CTC Crew kick off a new Challenge, using the Stampin’ Up! catalogues as inspiration. The CTC Crew are Stampin’ Up! demonstrators from Australia and NZ. Just click on the ‘Next’ link at the end of this post and you’ll work your way around the Blog Hop. To learn more about joining the challenge, follow the instructions at the end of this post.

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My inspiration for our CASEing the Catalogue challenge this week comes from the fabulous Sale-a-bration patterned papers.

In particular, the gorgeous Painted Seasons designer series paper.

When this paper was first released in February, you could only get it with the co-ordinating Painted Seasons stamp set in a bundle, free with a AUD$180 order. But… exciting news… until the end of March you can now get it on its own with a AUD$90 order!

You get three sheets of each of the four double-sided designs.

The funny thing is, it’s the way these papers are displayed in this photo that got me thinking about an interesting way to showcase them on a card.

With such beautiful hand-painted imagery, I wanted to use quite a few patterns on a card. The answer: a Split Panel Card.

The best thing about these Split Panel cards is that the cardstock panel that’s removed from the middle is the same piece that is attached vertically on the card.

What an economical use of cardstock!

I couldn’t stop at one, so made a second Split Panel Card. Such a different look!

The panels of patterned paper decorate both cards, along with stamps from Hedgehugs and also Hello Cupcake (for the ‘Celebrate Your Day’ sentiment).

And a little stamping on the inside to peek through the opening.

Next on the hop this week is the talented (and very sweet) Kelly Kent. You can find her gorgeous project here.

Would you like to have a go at this week’s challenge? To join in, you can either directly CASE (Copy and Share Everything) or use a sketch/layout, colour combination or something similar, as inspiration for your own creation. Then simply take a photo of your project and upload it to the latest challenge album in the CASEing The Catty Challenge group on Facebook. Each challenge will end at 7pm (AEST) on Saturday before the next challenge is posted. We pick some winners each week, but most importantly it’s a fun way to get out of your creative comfort zone and try something new. 

Happy stamping, 

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Welcome to the Colour INKspiration Blog Hop. We are a group of Stampin’ Up! ® Demonstrators who love to create papercraft projects using Pinterest-inspired colour combinations. Every second and fourth Wednesday of the month we have a design team blog hop where we showcase projects using the featured colour palette. Our ‘home’ is the Colour INKspiration Facebook Group where we encourage everyone to join in by uploading their projects to highlight the current colour combo.

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Hi friends!

It’s so wonderful to be back with another ColourINKspiration challenge. I’m loving this pretty colour combination. It’s definitely not one I’ve worked with before, but that’s the whole point of a challenge, right?

I used a mix of coloured cardstock and also markers for my challenge colours, along with the Cake Builder punch and Piece of Cake stamp set.

The ‘Congratulations to you’ sentiment is from Friendly Expressions.

I cut the cake pieces apart and rearranged them to create multi-coloured paper-pieced cakes.

The layers and border panel with cut out using the Rectangle Stitched framelits – probably my favourite product in the whole of the Occasions catalogue.

A touch of Highland Heather ribbon finished off the feature panel.

Next on our hop is Monique’s lovely project which you can find here.

Happy stamping, 

The Sale-a-bration party keeps getting better and better with a new third release of gift options. Included is the fabulous new Level 1 item (free with a AUD $90 purchase), Painted Seasons Designer Series Paper! Woohoo!!!

Some of our regular annual catalogue products can also be earned now as Sale-A-Bration rewards.

These extra choices are brilliant for those of us who already redeemed a few free gifts, and also for those who are still working on a wish list. We all love more options!

Third Release

Now you can choose from some of these core products from the annual Stampin’ Up! catalogue.

• Share What You Love Embellishment Kit [152832]
• Scattered Sequins Dynamic Textured Impressions Embossing Folder [152833]
• Mini Pizza Boxes [152836]
• Pearlized Doilies (X2) [152837]
• Rich Razzleberry 1/4" (6.4 Mm) Velvet Ribbon (X2) [152838]
• Petal Promenade Designer Series Paper [152839]
• Delightfully Detailed Laser-Cut Specialty Paper [152840]

Tip: If you’re ordering online, make sure you use the unique item codes listed here and NOT the codes in the catalogue.

As you can probably tell, I’m so excited to see the Painted Seasons designer series paper is one of the choices. I LOVE this paper!

You can still get it for free along with the free matching stamp set when you place a AUD$180 order, but it’s nice to know you can get the paper on it’s own too.

Need help deciding?

If you can’t decide on which gifts to choose, have a good look at ALL the options in the online store. It might help to narrow down your favourites and make the choice that little bit easier.

View ALL the Level 1 gifts (free with a AUD$90 order) here.

View ALL the Level 2 gifts (free with a AUD$180 order) here.

Happy stamping,