Hi there! I'm back today with a great little technique to use with outline stamps when you don't feel like colouring. This is Paper Piecing!

It's an effective technique…. simply stamp your image once on the base card and again on DSP, cardstock or other decorative paper (hey, you could even make your own with stamps and ink!). Trim the second piece carefully on – or just inside – the line, and adhere this to the base card.

I made a whole bunch of these last week to send to the demonstrators on our EurekaStampers team forum, and it was so much fun!!

Here is a brunette version of Tess.

And if you want to see how she was put together, here it is in just a few simple steps!

STEP 1

STEP 2

STEP 3

STEP 4

STEP 5

STEP 6

I added heels to this Tess 😉 

And here is Tess's wardrobe. DD6 and I mixed and matched her outfits.

And some of the finished cards…

Tote-ally Tess is one of the stamp sets now available in the Autumn-Winter Mini Catalouge in your choice of wood-mounted OR clear-mounted! If you are a customer of mine you should have received your own copy of the Mini by now – if not just email me and I'll pop one in the post for you.

And finally (phew, this is a long post!!) here's a close up of the tags which were punched out with the super cute new Jewelery Tag punch.

Check back over the weekend to have a look at some fabulous cards that I received from our team card swap. Soooo many great ideas!

Till then, happy stamping!

Here is our beautifully decorated stand at Paperific (lets call this the 'before' photo), where a group of us worked together over the weekend to share the love of Stampin' Up! We met some wonderful people who love this amazing hobby as much as we do, and some who are discovering it for the first time…. yes, we heard lots of 'ooohs' and 'ahhhhs'.

If you are visiting this site after meeting us at Paperific… welcome, and thanks for dropping by! And if you were one of the unlucky ones who were in the building when the freaky storm hit on Saturday, my commiserations! At about 3.30pm the heavens opened with the worst hailstorm in 40 years here in Melbourne, Victoria. Yes, it really was hailing INSIDE the exhibition building at the Melbourne Showgrounds, Flemington.

Hailing inside. Photos courtesy of Juliana Main

Before long, the evac siren was sounding, the main lights went out and water was coming inside from all directions!

Raining inside. Photos courtesy of Juliana Main.

Hailstones at the door

Melbourne was hit badly, with many of us finding dented cars and worse! But, you know what? It was great to see so many acts of kindness and generosity during the whole episode, with strangers looking out for each other.

Even though our papers were dampened, our spirits certainly were not! We even had a few good laughs as we watched someone completing their Make & Takes on another stand before they were ready to evacuate! Papercrafters sure are a hardy bunch. LOL

Here is the simple little Make & Take that I did before all the dramas started. This card demonstrates our beautifully coordinating stamps and punches, and uses the I {Heart} Hearts stamp set from the Summer Mini catalogue and the Heart to Heart punch. The sentiment is the Sale-a-bration set Whimsical Words. Participants also stamped the matching envelope.

On display was another way to use the same punch (CASE source: the very talented  Ilina Crouse).

This card above was also one of our stamp club projects last month, just in time for Valentines Day.

The Summer mini catalogue is in its final weeks – with items available until the 31st of March. Let me know if you'd like the I {Heart} Hearts stamp set or any other item before it's too late! Don't forget, purchases before the end of March help you qualify for FREE STAMPS with Sale-a-bration!

Happy stamping,

The new Kaleidoscope Designer Series Paper collection is one that you just have to see in person to really see it,  if you know what I mean! LOL. I wasn’t sure if I’d like it, but the colours work so well together and it’s a fun paper that I find myself reaching for a lot.

I made this paper handbag after our Stampin’ Up! team day on Saturday, which was absolutely fabulous. Maree Kirby (Clunes) showed us how to make these bags and they were surprisingly easy! We swapped cards, stamped together and had an all-round great day! All the demonstrators in my group were invited and we had 25 on the day which was absolutely amazing considering we come from far-flung places around Victoria and beyond. It was fantastic to catch up with old friends and meet new ones too! The creativity in the room was soooo inspiring so I’ve got LOTS of things on my ‘to make’ list now, and some great new ideas for workshops, classes and of course my special Stamp Club ladies. 

This desk calendar also features the Kaleidoscope paper, and was made by Juliana Main. Check out Juliana’s amazing punch art creations on her blog along with another version of this desktop calendar.

Apart from being a Stampin’ Up! demo and a mum to 3 young kids I also look after my hubby’s books for his business, and unfortunately I’m buried in paperwork at the moment so I haven’t had too much time to play.  I can’t wait to finish so I can get back to more fun stuff 🙂

Happy stamping,