What an amazing weekend!

Here we are in Canberra, for the annual Stampin’ Up! convention for Australian demonstrators. It is soooo exciting!!

Today was the first day and we spent the whole time being inspired, catching up with friends, chatting to the company exec’s and seeing the most incredible projects. We swapped loads of cards and I have received some absolutely stunning ones that I can’t wait to share with everyone when I get home. Yes, we even did some stamping! What a surprise 🙂

Below are some happy snaps from Day 1.

Photos: The amazing Shelli Gardner (Stampin’ Up! co-founder and CEO), Aaron Scott (Aus manager), our beautiful Stampin’ Up! bag that was filled with goodies like stamps, pen, lip balm, etc, and finally a pic of Shelli and I.

I’m here with some other demos from my team and we are having an absolute blast. Our group photos are on another camera so I’ll have to upload them tomorrow.

Want to join us????  Come with us next year – you’ll love it!! And if you’ve loved the products for a while and have been thinking about joining Stampin’ Up! then NOW is the time. An amazing promotion was just announced, offering a special starter kit for the reduced price of only $150!!!! You get heaps of products, discounts off all future purchases, the opportunity to earn some money and/or support your habit – oops, I mean hobby, AND next year you could join us for Convention 2010! You’ll also receive a welcome gift from me! 

I’ll be posting more details soon, but in the meantime visit www.stampinup.com then contact me to set up a time for a chat and cuppa.

Simone 🙂

Here’s a little project I enjoyed making during the week, using the gorgeous Bella Rose Designer Series Paper.

It’s a handy dandy notepad, covered in Riding Hood Red cardstock and decorated with a few embellishments.

The Cropadile had no troubles punching through the entire thing to make a hole in the upper left-hand corner. A metal hinged ring was inserted through the hole, then Tafetta ribbon (in white and Riding Hood Red) was tied to the ring. 

An interesting technique was used to add dimension and feature to the rose, which was fussy cut from the Bella Rose DSP. I will be demonstrating this technique at my next Class, on Friday 8th of May (in Creswick, Vic).

Here’s a closer look…

At the class we’ll be making a gorgeous card compendium which you can personalise with different sentiments, and comes complete with FOUR cards and stamped envelopes. It’s a perfect gift for Mum (Mothers Day is on 10th of May!!), or that special friend who treasures your hand crafted projects.

Here is a sneak peek:

If you’d like to join us on Friday 8th May (7pm start) contact me to reserve your spot. It’ll be a fun night!

Have a great weekend,

Happy Easter stampers!

We are just about to head off for our annual camping-in-the-middle-of-nowhere trip. No running water, no electricity, no phone – love it!!! We come home covered in dirt and smelling of campfire smoke, but with a much greater appreciation for all the comforts of home!

A big "Hello" to all the ladies who joined me last weekend for one of the New Catalogue classes. The catalogue is a BIG HIT – the new stamp sets, accessories and In Colours were given a big thumbs up!

The card above is a fun project we made at Stamp Club, and features the gorgeous Level 3 hostess set called Window Dressing (p22 IB&C).

The window was snipped out and layered over a co-ordinating cardstock panel. We coloured the window with markers, mainly Close To Cocoa (same as the cardstock base) and Creamy Caramel. This was all mounted over the separate ‘windows’ with Stampin’ Dimensionals so that it is very 3D in real life. We scored and folded the shutters a little and even colored the back of the shutters with markers for a more finished look.  The sentiment is from Curvy Verses (p116 IB&C). The background stamp is called Weathered, and was stamped in Versamark on the Cocoa card.

This card was heaps of fun to make and kind of reminds me of a treehouse! I’m thinking of doing a Window Dressing class so stay tuned for more details after Easter.

Alma’s version in Barely Banana (above) and Jodie’s in Brocade Blue (below).

Hope you have a lovely Easter!

See you next week.

Today I thought I'd share a simple technique using punches to create raised 3D frames. You can see one I've used in this Birthday Cheers card.

How to Make a Scallop Frame (or any shape, for that matter!)

Punch a 1 3/8" circle from your cardstock

Save the punched circle for another project. This time we need to work on the negative space!

Turn your scallop circle punch upside-down and insert cardstock from Step 1. Line it up carefully so that the empty circle is in the exact middle. Punch!

And here you have the frame. Add tiny pieces of Stampin' Dimensionals around the frame and layer it over a stamped image for a great 3D effect.

Hope you've enjoyed my first little Pictorial Tutorial!

See you soon,

Birthday Cheers card: Baja Breeze, Basic Black, Rose Red cardstock, Cheers To You stamp set, scallop edge punch, scallop circle punch, 1 3/8" circle punch, black gingham ribbons, Rose Red double stitched 1" grosgrain ribbon

The New Stampin’ Up! Idea Book & Catalogue is out!!!! 160 pages of fabulous new layouts and plenty of yummy new stamps and accessories.

Do you want one?

• If you are attending one of my new catalogue classes this weekend, or you are a stamp club member, you will be collecting your very own copy soon! Limited spots available for the Sunday afternoon class at the Creswick Fire Station. Contact me for more details.
• Book a workshop for your own free copy and the chance to clear some items off your wish list for FREE!
• Order your own copy for only $12.95 plus postage.

I’m so excited about the classes coming up this weekend. Here’s a little peek at one of the projects we’ll be making… an Easter gift using the new In Color "Pink Pirouette" and the Fresh Cuts stamp set (the Easter Wishes sentiment is from Occasional Greetings). And yes, of course, there is chocolate!!! 😉

On Saturday morning I’m posting my first Pictorial Tutorial. The topic is punched frames which can be used as embellishments for cards or scrap pages. See you then!

Happy stamping,

My neighbour (and stamp club member) Jodie made this gorgeous card using the retiring Touch Of Nature stamp set and For A Friend hostess set.  

She was inspired from the previous year’s Idea Book & Catalogue, and it reminded me of how much value the books are even after they have officially retired. They really are a great resource that will keep inspiring for years to come.  I love this card!

Excitement is building as the new IB&C is about to launch, but you still have time to snap up a retiring item or two before they are gone for good. Don’t forget that the Simply Sent cardmaking kits are 25% off, as are the rubons, chipboard and even most of the 12"x12" Designer Series Papers. Click here for current availabilities.

Can’t help but share another sneak peek from a yet-to-be-released-in-Australia stamp set, Fresh Cuts, and the new In Color called Kiwi Kiss. This was a card gone wrong that ended up totally different to the one I planned. It was pretty funny…. at one stage it was even in the recycling bin but I couldn’t bear to throw away one of the new Fresh Cuts Note Cards so it was reborn into this card…

Until next time…