The ribbon & button giveaway this month is proving to be popular. Such fun bright colours, the perfect antidote for these cold and bleak wintry days.

Don't need quite enough supplies this month for a $100 order?
Why not collect some orders from friends.
With nearly 14 METRES of ribbon and 48 buttons,
there's plenty to share around. 

We're into the final week of the winter school holidays here, and have enjoyed the leisurely days and sleep-ins.

Little Miss 7 has been begging me to learn to sew with the machine for ages, so this seemed like as good a time as any. I honestly thought she'd sew a few lines and that would be it, but she filled up her practice panel in no time and wanted more!

By the afternoon she'd already made a cushion and even slip stitched it shut after pushing in the soft stuff.

And then went back and made another one for Little Miss 4, who of course thinks her big sister is now a hero.

Gotta love the school holidays. Have a great week, and….

Happy stamping,

We got home from our annual camping adventure today. This is that holiday: no electricity, no running water. Just some of my favourite people in the world, and Mother Nature. 

We love this holiday each year and look forward to it for months… but we also really look forward to the nice hot shower back at home! Funny how the smell of campfire smoke hangs around for so long, doesn't it?!

This trip was even more special because my younger sister and her boys joined us for a few days. And we stamped! My sister is fairly new to cardmaking so we had a great time going through the basics like cutting cardstock, watercolouring and layering. I just wish we'd taken photos of us stamping on trestle tables out in the bush!

But I do have a card to share with you today. I was chatting to a stamping buddy tonight (hi Jenny) and realised I hadn't posted my awning card. I can't remember where I first saw this technique, but this particular card is based on one that fellow demonstrator Tracy Penn gave me.

The Birthday Bakery stamp set is perfect for this card.

Birthday Bakery is one of the exclusive FREE stamp sets for Hostesses (or anyone with a qualifying order). It's such a sweet set! I always partner it with some sparkly Dazzling Diamonds glitter.

The awning is created by adhering 11 punched shapes from the Word Window punch to a strip of cardstock 3.5cm x 10.5cm. The window punchies will overhang at the top and bottom. Adhere to the top of the card front, and bend the bottoms to look like a shopfront awning. Cute!

We made this card at Stamp Club last month, and the clever girls came up with some fabulous themes for other awning cards. How about:

• zoo (Fox & Friends, Animal Stories)
• pet shop (D is for Dog, C is for Cat)
• train station (Choo Choo)
• fruit shop (Tart & Tangy)
• a window scene (Lovely As A Tree)
• baby shop (Baby Bundle)
• toy shop (Family Favourites)
• coffee shop (Morning Cup)
• florist (A Flower For All Seasons)
• Christmas shop (any of your favourite festive sets)
• cake shop (Build-a-Cupcake punch)

I also made a chocolate shop with the new Eat Chocolate stamp set from the Autumn-Winter mini catalogue. So many ideas!

Well I'd better stop chatting and get back to the unpacking. Enjoy the rest of your week.

Subscribe to Simone Bartrum, Stampin' Up! demonstrator – Victoria, Australia by Email

Hi everyone. It's great to be back on the 'puter and blogging again. I've been stuck in my own little time warp after being knocked for a six with a v-e-r-y nasty chest infection. I actually spent 2 days in bed! But on the mend now and itching to get all inky again.

I've got heaps of great projects to share in the coming days and weeks, but thought for now I'd quickly show you this card I made for my brother-in-law's birthday, yes a big Doctor Who fan. I actually went googling for ideas and low-and-behold stumbled upon this card that the amazingly talented Valita designed. Valita recently joined up as a Stampin' Up! demonstrator under one of the girls in my group, so I'm very proud to say she is in my team now! It really is a small world, isn't it?

I'm having a bit of trouble getting used to Matt Smith as the new Doctor. What do you think? Time will tell, I guess 😉

Happy stamping,