Dunkleys Whangarei 2010

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Dunkleys last weekend was a great success! Thanks so much to all of you who stopped by to say hi to me and my team of wonderful "angels": Kay, Liz, Christine and Judy - I am so lucky and blessed to have you as friends! Here are a selection of the pics (as promised - although a little late!) from the show:


I have been trying out my collage-making skills, so the above pic shows (from top left) me setting up the display, me at the stall, me giving a demonstration of how to stamp using markers (watched by Kay and customer), and Brenda McLeish, a fellow demonstrator from the far north, manning the stall on the Saturday.

Then we have more pics of me at the stall, some of my displays, and "angel" Judy with Karen (left), who is one of my customers and a very accomplished scrapbooker herself!

One of the highlights of the show for me was to give away a basket filled with Stampin' Up! goodies to one lucky person who filled in the door prize form during the weekend. The basket contained 36 sheets of assorted cardstock, two punches, three stamp sets, two Classic ink pads, two rolls of ribbon, two glue pens and a Versamark ink pad. I was so pleased when the winner was drawn and it was...

...Trees van Ruth from the Papermill in Whangarei!

The Papermill is a Charitable Trust that trains people with disabilities or special needs in the art of paper-making, as well as creating incredible works of art with these handmade papers. It was an honour to deliver the prize basket to Trees at the Papermill and to see the amazing papers, some made from materials from the Papermill's own garden! Trees said she was thrilled to receive the basket, but was especially thrilled with the punches, as some of her clients had tried them out at the show and were very keen on them. And I was thrilled that the prize had gone to such a great organisation! For more information on the Papermill please visit their website at www.papermill.co.nz - they are open Monday to Friday from 9am to 3pm, and are well worth a visit if you are in Whangarei.

Lastly, but certainly not least, a BIG thanks to Christine, one of my angels and also the chief "paparazzi" for me during stall set up and first day, as well as at the prize-giving. Christine left her sick hubby at home on the Thursday before the show to help me with set up, so a special thanks to Pat for lending her to me in his time of need!!

Be sure to tune into my blog on Wednesday for the last of the Deals of the Week for June, or subscribe to my newsletter if you want to see it hot-off-the-press! I will also try to blog the projects I made at our Creative Inkers team training on Saturday in Auckland - just have to put the finishing touches to them and then charge up the camera!!

Happy crafting!

Deal of the Week #3

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Sorry I'm a bit late posting this week's deal. If you subscribe to my newsletter you would have already seen it anyway - another great reason to subscribe (use the Mail Chimp box on the RHS of my blog).

This week’s deals: Save up to 50% off the following stamp sets!

115792 Greetings Eight - $29.48 (rrp $58.95)

114263 A Happy Heart - $24.98 (rrp $49.95)

116330 Bella's Bloom - $17.37 (rrp $28.95)

113009 Enjoy Every Moment - $31.48 (rrp $62.95)

114283 All Scallops - $33.48 (rrp $66.95)

Next Wednesday the final deal for June will be launched, so newsletter subscribers will receive this by 4am (yes, I am a night owl!!) and I will post it on my blog as soon as I can after that.

And, as promised, pics from Dunkleys will be up tomorrow - including a pic of the lucky winner of my prize basket with over $250 worth of Stampin' Up! goodies in it!! See you then!

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Queen for a Day

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Wow, what a great weekend! I had a ball at Dunkleys - it was fun to catch up with my customers (both old and new!). I'll post some pictures of my stall later on this week.

And I've also been busy with all the orders for the DSP that's on special! I wanted to show you this page I made with the fabulous Pink Flamingo papers. This page is cased from a page I saw here - I would never have thought to use the papers like this, but I love the effect it gives!


I especially love how the papers are used by cutting out various elements to use as embellishments on the page. How many times have you found a beautiful piece of paper but thought it was too lovely to use? Or the pattern was too "busy" to use on a page? By using just a little bit of paper, or by cutting out images from it, you can create a beautiful layout - or even a whole co-ordinating scrapbook from one pack of DSP!


I've also used the technique of colouring in chipboard letters then lacquering them with Crystal Effects - an easy way to ensure you always have matching letters for your layout!

The subject of this page is my beautiful niece Moana. Isn't she just the cutest?! I was lucky enough to be in Sydney when she turned two in January, so got this priceless pic of her wearing her new princess garb (only a few moments after this photo was taken that crown was off!!).


If you would like to order this paper at the special price of $12.97 (usually $19.95) then email me before 10pm tonight (Tuesday) so that I can place your order before the special price expires.

I'll be posting the new Deal of the Week tomorrow morning (after 2am when I find out what it is!) so come back and check it out. If you would like the deal emailed directly to you then please join my mailing list by entering your email address in the box on the right hand side of this page. I promise not to spam you, and you are free to unsubscribe at any time!

Catch you tomorrow and happy crafting!

Deal of the Week #2... and a page I've been meaning to post!

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Throughout the month of June, Stampin’ Up! is bringing out a new deal every week! With the Deals of the Week, you’ll get up to 50% off a selection of products from the 2009-2010 Idea Book & Catalogue!

This week’s deals: Save 35-40% on selected Designer Series (double-sided) paper packs!

Haiku - $11.97 (rrp $19.95)

Tea Party - $11.97 (rrp $19.95)

Pink Flamingo - $12.97 (rrp $19.95)

Raspberry Tart - $12.97 (rrp $19.95)

Sweet Slumber - $18.17 (rrp $27.95)

There is no limit to the number of DSP packs you can purchase at the special prices, and no minimum order is required (5% will be added to your order total to cover postage and packaging). If you would like to order any of these papers at the special price you have until Tuesday 15 June at 10pm when I will be putting my order in, so place an order now!

Bronte Beach

Now for the page I've been meaning to post for the last two weeks... One of my customers once asked me whether I ever do any "plain" scrapbooking. I had to laugh, as I confess that most of the pages I do have at least a little embellishing on them! But that question sparked a challenge for me - to make a "plain" page! And this is what I came up with:


This is my most favourite beach in all of Sydney, Australia! Bronte is a small family-oriented beach, just two beaches south of the famous Bondi Beach (Tamarama beach is in between the two). At the southern end of the beach is a sheltered rock pool (the Aborigines call it a bogey hole) where young children can swim safely, and there is also a gorgeous ocean pool where swimmers can train by doing laps (the pool is 30 metres long) or teenagers can jump off the cliff into the deep end! During the Christmas holidays when I was visiting my brother and his family I spent many happy days in this pool, either alone or with my nephews.

I thought the photos of Bronte Beach would be perfect for my "plain" page, and I wanted to lay them out so that (1) they would showcase the many beautiful views, and (2) they would appear to be like a window that the viewer is looking out from. I love this page and the memories it brings back to me (isn't that what scrapbooking is all about - preserving your precious memories!).

The one addition I made to this page was to ink the chipboard letters with Pacific Point (to match the background cardstock) and then cover them in Crystal Effects, which is a clear dimensional lacquer that gives these letters such a wonderful shine!

I hope you like my "plain" page! And if you want to know more about it please feel free to contact me!

Supplies Used:
Cardstock: Pacific Point, Bashful Blue
Ink: Pacific Point, Bashful Blue
Stamps: Pure & Simple Alphabet (retired)
Other: On Board Loads of Letters, Crystal Effects, Sponge Dauber
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Dunkleys Great NZ Craft Show Coming to Whangarei!

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The Dunkleys Great New Zealand Craft Show is returning to Whangarei on June 11-13 at the ASB Leisure Centre at Kensington Stadium! I have booked a stall there, and will be doing demonstrations and make'n'takes during the three day expo.

There is a link on the top right hand side of my blog where you can print out a discount voucher to get $1 off the price of entry ($2 if you come on Friday 11 June!), and I also have vouchers to give away if you don't have access to a printer. Come on down to Kensington Stadium and see me - and keep watching my blog and Facebook site for specials and freebies that will only be available during the Dunkleys weekend!
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Scrappy Monday!

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I just love Mondays! The start of a new week, the opportunity to get everything done that wasn't done last week (hehe), and a chance to show you some of my scrapbooking!!

This page is an old one I did - one that I promised I would show you last year before I took my blogging 'holiday'. I made this page before I went to Australia to spend Christmas with my brother and his family, and it captures the main reason for my visit: to see my nephews and niece!

I used the I Wish Simply Scrappin' kit - a great kit to use to make quick and easy scrapbook pages as all elements co-ordinate together! This kit contains 8 sheets of 12"x12" textured cardstock (four different colors), 6 sheets of 12"x12" double-sided patterned paper, and 6 sheets of die-cut stickers - all this for only $43.95!

I have also used some of the scrumptious Button Bouquet buttons to add a little texture on the page, using linen thread and tiny strips of DSP to fill the button holes. The two corduroy buttons are from a different set that has sadly now retired :( - luckily I stocked up before they finished so still have plenty in my stash!

Also, to add some stamping to my page (which I find isn't always necessary when using the Simply Scrappin' kits, but I like to so I did!) I have used the Snow Swirled set which is still available in the main catalogue. That set sure did get a workout at Christmastime, and is one I'll be keeping in my collection for many years to come!

As this week is the start of National Scrapbooking Month I'm making the following offer to encourage you all to get scrappin'! Purchase any Simply Scrappin' kit during May and receive 5 metres of 1/4" grosgrain ribbon (in co-ordinating colours) FREE! Contact me today to place your order, and let me know which colour ribbon you would like to receive. Simply Scrappin' kits can be found on pages 136-38 of the main catalogue and on page 33 of the Autumn/Winter Mini; 1/4" grosgrain ribbon is on page 151 of the main catalogue.

Recipe (all products by Stampin'Up! unless otherwise noted):
Paper: Simply Scrappin' I Wish kit
Stamps: Snow Swirled
Ink: Versamark
Other: Silver embossing powder, Button Bouquet, linen thread, Chocolate Chip marker
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I'm Back and I'm Blogging!!

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I must put my hand up and admit it - I've been a very bad blogger!! It's been five months since my last blog post (before yesterday's), and it's not as if I haven't been doing anything crafty... Actually, I have been doing LOTS, which I'll show you over the next few days/weeks/months! Thanks to all of you who have told me to get my A into G and start blogging again - see, I do listen to you (sometimes!).

My apologies in advance too; because I have been very bad and haven't blogged in so long, Stampin' Up! has gone through one whole mini catalogue AND Sale-a-bration while I've been away. Consequently, you may see projects that feature some products that are no longer available (although I live in hope that we'll see them again in the new Idea Book & Catalogue that comes out in September!). However, now that I have blitzed through my wishlist (yes, Demos do have these as well...) of goodies from the new Autumn/Winter Mini I have lots of new toys to play with, so you'll be seeing some of the projects I've been busily making with those as well. My gosh, I may have to blog every day for the next year just to get through everything I want to show you!!

Here's the first project I made when my goodies arrived; as you can see, I used a lot of my new toys to create this: the delicious new Rich Razzleberry cardstock, ink and ribbon, the new Cottage Wall DSP, the two-step bird punch, the Vintage Vogue set, and the Little Leaves Sizzlet die.


I used this card as my project at the Waipapa Extravaganza on 27 March. Those attending got to make four projects designed and taught by three different Demonstrators, and the ladies who booked to come to the Extravaganza through me also got to take home a little box filled with Easter goodies that I made for them. I got the idea for the punch art bunny from a blog I happened upon during my travels through cyberspace, but unfortunately have lost the link to it otherwise I'd post it here.


Stay tuned for more of my projects in the very near future!
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Just Add Ink Challenge #14

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Nothing like a challenge to get someone back into blogging is there! I umm-ed and ahhh-ed about whether to post this page, as it didn't come out as 'heritage' as I would have liked, but thought I would share anyway, as part of it has a really nice collage effect.


This page showcases my gorgeous god-daughter, Carla, who has (surprisingly!) graced the pages of my scrapbooking pages (and blog) many times before! Last year she was finally old enough to travel up from Auckland to visit me in Whangarei, and we had plenty of photo opportunities when we visited Mair Park and she started climbing the old trees!!

I wanted to capture the timeless nature of this park, and to also show that this was an historic visit for us both. Hence the heritage-style page! I bought the twill tape ages ago when I saw how cool it looked stamped, but haven't managed to pull it out of my stash until now. I love it! To make the title shown below I first wheeled the Very Vintage jumbo wheel using Soft Suede, then randomly stamped the vine, from the de-vine (hehe) Vintage Vogue set in the new Autumn/Winter Mini, using Old Olive ink. I then stamped the title and flowers using Rich Razzleberry (or Rich Raz as I call it!), frayed each end of the tape and attached with brads. A few buttons cut out using the Buttons #5 Sizzlet and a bit of linen thread and Crystal Effects, then my title was completed!



I also stamped some flowers from the Vintage Vogue set onto vellum cardstock using the Rich Raz, cut them out and adhered to the page. A bit of faux-stitching using the mat pack, piercing tool and white gel pen to tie the Cottage Wall DSP together gave the page a nice collage feel. I know that the faux stitching and hand-cutting of the flowers takes time, but I love how the detail gives the page a real 'hand made' feel.

So, that's my take on the Just Add Vintage challenge! It's so nice to be blogging again - this will be a regular thing, I promise!! Go and check out the other great entries at Just Add Ink - there are some stunning ones this week!

Recipe (all products by Stampin'Up! unless otherwise noted):
Ink: Old Olive, Soft Suede, Rich Razzleberry, Sahara Sand, Whisper White
Paper: Old Olive, Soft Suede, Kraft, Vellum Cardstock, Cottage Garden DSP
Stamps: Lovely Letters alphabet, Vintage Vogue
Other: Vintage brads, Top Note Die, Buttons #5 Sizzlet, twill tape, glue dots, Stamp-a-ma-jig, Mat Pack and piercing tool, white gel pen, linen thread
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