Archive for the 'cards' Category

Tutorial: Stepping Up Your Projects

Published by under cards

Each week Stampin’ Up! demonstrators are sent an email with helpful information. Sometimes there is an inspiring story about a fellow demonstrator, or the latest business advice, or info about the latest promotion, and often there is creative inspiration. A while ago they shared the following three projects featuring the Sending Smiles and Pretty Birds Bundles.

I took a deep-dive into how these cards were made and am sharing that with you today. There are some fantastic ideas here that I know will come in handy!

I love how the projects are stepped up for casual crafters, through to the more experienced avid crafters.

This is a great reminder that your cards can be as simple or as complicated as you like. Sometimes we like to make clean & simple cards with minimal supplies. Other times we like to let our creativity loose and spend all day on a project! What is your favourite style?

On the first card, the bird image was coloured with Watercolor Pencils. The concept artist then created their own patterned paper by stamping out the bird cage image on Basic White Cardstock, taking care to line up the chain of each bird cage with the base of the cage above it.


The next card was stepped up by adding a few extra layers of patterned paper, and adhering Mossy Meadow Cardstock to a Foam Adhesive Sheet, which was then used that to die cut the word “Sending.” The “Sending” word shadow was die cut in Vellum and adhered behind the die-cut word, and finished off with some Brushed Metallic Dots.

This third card is a WOW card! The concept artist used the Deckled Rectangles Dies to cut three rectangles from the Texture Chic Designer Series Paper, then layered them on the card base, offsetting each layer. Next, the large bird cage was die cut three times from Crushed Curry Cardstock and once from Pearlescent Specialty Paper. All the die cuts were adhered together with the specialty paper on top, creating a thick die-cut piece. Such a cool technique!

Finally, the “Sending” word shadow was created by blending Mossy Meadow and Soft Succulent ink on Basic White Thick Cardstock with Blending Brushes then adding a few water drops with a Stampin’ Spritzer.


  • We are in the final week of the September Weekly Deals. Check out the latest specials here.
  • Have you seen the latest all-inclusive kits? Fantastic new Christmas kits have recently been added.
  • Brand new LIMITED EDITION cutting dies have been added for September. Check them out here. Note: They are only available until the end of September and won’t be offered again in the future.
  • Less than 3 months until Christmas! Woohooo…. time to start the Christmas cards 🙂

Happy stamping, 

Simone Bartrum, Stampin' Up! demonstrator Australia, Victoria
Join me on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/StampingWithSimone/

No responses yet

Sept IDEAS: Family Celebrations

Published by under cards

The IDEAS team are back with another wonderful bundle of tutorials to share with you. This month our theme is “Family Celebrations” and each contributor has created a card and a 3D project with full instructions. Family Celebrations is a pretty general theme so there’s bound to be something for everyone. These occasions could include a milestone birthday, new baby, any birthday, holiday, Christmas, New Year, or any other thing you celebrate with your family.

The collage above is a sneak peek of the projects the Design Team have contributed this month.

To get your hands on this file, simply place a $50+ order of Stampin’ Up! products with me during the month of SEPTEMBER. This can be done through my , or by contacting me by email, by Facebook or phone. It’s also available for separate purchase and is provided to my team members for free in our team forum and also to my stamp club members. If you don’t get it, please reach out to me in case you were missed.

Once you have received the tutorials, please remember they are for your personal use only, so that means you can’t distribute any printed or electronic copies of these bundles.

My tutorial features 3 different projects and a tutorial of a fun technique which uses your cutting dies to emboss images! You can see a little sneak peek of one of my projects above.

Click on the button below to check out the next great project from Janey Backer.

Happy stamping, 

Simone Bartrum, Stampin' Up! demonstrator Australia, Victoria
Join me on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/StampingWithSimone/

5 responses so far

Weekly Deals & New Products

Published by under cards

Spring has sprung in our part of the world… Welcome to September.

Can you believe that Christmas is now less than 4 months away?! School holidays are starting for my youngest on Friday so we are planning to make the most of the sunshine by heading down to the beach. A walk on the sand is in order, even if it is still a little chilly.

Stampin’ Up! are kicking off this fabulous month with two great special opportunities:
1. the release of 6 new sets of cutting dies AND
2. a series of Weekly Deals throughout the whole month!

Weekly Deals

Every week during September Stampin’ Up! are offering a selection of discounted products. Different specials each week. We’ve already had the first lot released which you can see below, and the next lot will be out on the 8th (this Thursday), then the 15th and the final lot on 22nd September.

View the current offerings in my online store.


New Cutting Dies

This month Stampin’ Up! also released six new sets of cutting dies that coordinate with stamp sets in the 2022–2023 Annual Catalogue and the July–December 2022 Mini Catalogue.

These coordinating dies will only be available during this promotion and will not be offered in any catalogue.  You can order them separately or as a bundle. As usual, buying the bundle means you save 10% off the retail price. 

Want to have a look?

I’m very excited about the Tree Trimmings dies, it will go with the matching stamp set that I already have. But I know there was a lot of excitement about the Yeti dies! Which one is your favourite?

Have a closer look at each of these dies and their bundles over here in the online store.

Happy stamping, 

Simone Bartrum, Stampin' Up! demonstrator Australia, Victoria
Join me on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/StampingWithSimone/

No responses yet

Product Shares & More to Sale-a-brate

Published by under cards

Hi friends,

I’m popping in today to share some quick August updates with you. A summary of everything you need to know, all in one place.


Even More to Sale-a-brate

Sale-a-bration just got better! This is a twice-yearly event where you choose a free gift with every $90 or $180 purchase. This week Stampin’ Up! released even MORE gifts to choose from, including dies, embossing folders and specialty paper from the annual catalogue. Available until August 30.

View all the gifts available with a $90 purchase here.

View all the gifts available with a $180 purchase here.

While supplies last.


New Kit: Cozy & Bright

All-inclusive card making kits have become super popular over the past year. Easy, portable and great for both the new and experienced crafter, these kits includes a stamp set and ink spot for you to keep PLUS supplies needed to make a variety of cards.

A brand new kit has just been released! A new concept for me is oranges and cinnamon sticks on a Christmas card, but I have to say it’s really cute 🙂


More Product Shares

Recently I invited interested crafters to join a round of product shares. It was my first lot of shares in quite a few years. All shares were sold, and are all in the mail (slightly delayed due to me getting Covid, but they are all out now).

I’m now opening another round for those who missed out. Register your interest today.

Product shares give you a wide variety of products but a smaller quantity and are very budget-friendly. Perfect for the home crafter. I’m offering 3 different shares:

Paper shares: $40 (80 6×6 sheets) including delivery Australia-wide

Accessories/Embellishments/Packaging: $35 including delivery Australia-wide

Ribbon: $15 including delivery Australia-wide

Email to purchase 1, 2 or all 3 shares OR request the flyer with full information and product content.

All products are fully labelled.


Free Monthly Tutorials

Did you know I send a free bundle of tutorials each month to anyone who spends $50+ with me on Stampin’ Up! products.
I’m in a collaboration with talented demonstrators from all over the world, and each month we create a huge document (usually 80-100 pages long!) of tutorials, as a thank you gift for our valued customers. You’ll see mine, along with at least 12-15 other tutorials. You will automatically receive this by email if I have your address. If you don’t get it, please reach out to me so I can send it to you.


Free Planner

Another bonus during August is for those who join or re-join Stampin’ Up!

In addition to the regular perks which you can read about here, you’ll get a faux-leather 6-ring planner, dividers, weekly and monthly page inserts, three note books, stickers and more. Absolutely gorgeous.

Join or re-join here.


The Latest Mini Catalogue

Our supplement to the big Annual Catalogue is well and truly with us now, and is one of the best I’ve ever seen. Products available through to the end of 2022.


So there you go, all up to date.

It’s great to see that life is returning to ‘normal’ for so many of us after the last few crazy years. I’ve also returned to in-person workshops, so if you live in regional Victoria and would like to get together to make cards just reach out and we can chat about options.

Happy stamping, 

Simone Bartrum, Stampin' Up! demonstrator Australia, Victoria
Join me on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/StampingWithSimone/

No responses yet

August IDEAS: Celebrate Sale-a-bration

Published by under cards

This month the IDEAS team are sharing a fantastic array of projects featuring Sale-a-bration gifts. Have you got yours yet? You can choose a free gift for each $90 (AUD) and an even bigger and better gift with a $180 (AUD) purchase!
NOTE: Some of the initial offerings have sold out, so as of today (Tues 2nd August in Australia) you’ll have even more options to choose from. Stay tuned for more info later today or check my Facebook page for the most up-to-date news.

The collage above is a sneak peek of the projects the Design Team have contributed this month.

To get your hands on this file, simply place a $50+ order of Stampin’ Up! products with me during the month of AUGUST. This can be done through my , or by contacting me by email, by Facebook or phone. It’s also available for separate purchase and is provided to my team members for free in our team forum and also to my stamp club members. If you don’t get it, please reach out to me in case you were missed.

Once you have received the tutorials, please remember they are for your personal use only, so that means you can’t distribute any printed or electronic copies of these bundles.

My tutorial features a gift box which is made from the Stars Treat Bags, along with a coordinating card. These would be great to help someone celebrate a new home.

You can have a look at a sneak peek of each of the designer’s projects by joining us on this blog hop. Click on the button below to check out the next great project from Yolanda.

Happy stamping, 

Simone Bartrum, Stampin' Up! demonstrator Australia, Victoria
Join me on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/StampingWithSimone/

8 responses so far

July IDEAS: Holiday Theme (Christmas In July)

Published by under cards

July is a very exciting month for the IDEAS team, because many of us are sharing NEW mini catalogue products. Our theme this month is “Holidays” – which can really mean all manner of things, but I’m going with the “Christmas in July” interpretation.

The collage above is a sneak peek of the projects the Design Team have contributed this month.

To get your hands on this file, simply place a $50+ order of Stampin’ Up! products with me during the month of JULY. This can be done through my , or by contacting me by email, by Facebook or phone. It’s also available for separate purchase and is provided to my team members for free in our team forum and also to my stamp club members. If you don’t get it, please reach out to me in case you were missed.

Once you have received the tutorials, please remember they are for your personal use only, so that means you can’t distribute any printed or electronic copies of these bundles.

My tutorial is for a mini-album with pockets on every page, and a matching card.

The card is a double layer fun fold, and the mini album was constructed from a single sheet of 12×12 paper!

You can have a look at a sneak peek of each of the designer’s projects by joining us on this blog hop. Click on the button below to check out the next great project by Yolanda.

Happy stamping, 

Simone Bartrum, Stampin' Up! demonstrator Australia, Victoria
Join me on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/StampingWithSimone/

7 responses so far

  • This is me! Simone Bartrum, Australian Stampin' Up! demonstrator since 2007.
  • Simone Bartrum
    Australia
      0411 642 038

  • Welcome to my online home where I share a love of cardmaking, hand-crafted home decor and rubber stamping. Grab a cuppa and click around!

  • Would you like something you see here? 
    If you're in Australia, just click here to visit the online store.

  • Questions or comments?

  • 2024
    Sales Award Top 10 AU
    Incentive Trip Achiever
    Team Building Award


    2023
    Sales Award #11
    Team Building Award
    Leadership Award

  • 2022
    Sales Award #13
    Team Building Award
    Leadership Award

  • 2021
    Sales Award #15
    Team Building Award
    Leadership Award

  • 2020
    Australian Top 25
    Sales Award #5
    Incentive Trip

  • 2019
    Australian Top 25
    Sales Award #11
    Leadership Award

  • 2018
    Australian Top 10
    Incentive Trip Achiever
    Top 10 Sales & Recruiting

  • 2017
    Australian Top 10 #6
    Global Top 100
    Incentive Trip Achiever

  • 2016
    Australian Top 10
    Incentive Trip Achiever
    Leadership Award

  • 2015
    Incentive Trip Achiever
    $40K Sales Award
    Recruiting Award

  • 2014
    Leadership Award
    Recruiting Award
    Incentive Trip Achiever

  • 2013
    Leadership Award
    Incentive Trip Achiever
    Sales Achiever's Award

  • 2012
    #2 Leadership Award
    Incentive Trip Achiever
    #6 Demonstrator of Year

  • 2011
    #1 Leadership Award
    Incentive Trip Achiever
    #7 Demonstrator of Year

  • 2010
    #2 Leadership Award
    Incentive Trip Achiever
    #16 Demonstrator of Year

  • FREE TUTORIAL BUNDLE WITH $50 PURCHASE

  • Recent Posts

  • Meta

  • Stampin' Up! 2024-2025 Annual Catalogue
    1 May 2024 - 30 April 2025
    View Online | Shop Online
  • Stampin' Up! January-April 2025 Mini Catalogue
    7th January - 5th May
    View Online | Shop Online
  • Stampin' Up! Sale-a-Bration 2025
    7th January - 28th February 2025
    View Online | Shop Online
  • Join to save money or join to make money!

  • Join to save money | Join to make money
  • Join me on Facebook

  • Amazing places we've visited thanks to Stampin' Up!'s Incentive Trip program*

  • Mediterranean Cruise 2016
  • * Legal disclaimer: I have achieved the awards and recognition listed above, but this is not representative of typical Stampin’ Up! demonstrators. The level of sales to achieve this result requires significant work and is accomplished by a substantially small percentage of Stampin’ Up! demonstrators.


  • Popular Posts

  • The Fine Print

  • All content, including designs, concepts, text, and photographs are COPYRIGHT ©2025 Simone Bartrum, unless otherwise stated. I only use Stampin' Up!® products, so all stamped images are COPYRIGHT 2025 Stampin' Up!. As an independent demonstrator for Stampin' Up!, the content of this site is my responsibility. The use of and content of the classes, services, or products offered on here is not specifically endorsed by Stampin' Up!.