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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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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So Young, So Innocent...

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It seems my scrapbooking ladies just can't get enough of Heritage scrapbooking, but in order to make this page more versatile I have leaned towards more of a 'modern' heritage style.


This is my Third form (Year 9??) photo taken in 1986 when I was in my first year at boarding school. I can't believe how young and innocent (naive??)I look in this photo!

In order to give the page a timeless feel I have used the gorgeous Parisian Breeze DSP ($27.95), which is only available until the end of this month (sob!) when the Spring Mini catalogue ends. This DSP is a textured coverweight, so is perfect for those mini albums. I'm really going to miss it when it's gone... (can you tell!?!). I've also coupled this paper with the beautiful Great Friend set (also leaving in the Spring Mini!), which at $37.95 for five co-ordinating stamps is great value. In order to make the customised border shown below I used Baja Breeze ink to stamp the En Francais ($39.95) background onto glossy cardstock and then stamped the butterfly from Great Friend in Versamark before embossing it with white embossing powder (some students used clear embossing powder too so that the En Francais words showed though), and lastly sponging over the top with Baja Breeze again. I love how it all co-ordinates and really showcases this (modern) heritage page!

To add some extra special touches I have used a crystal brad, white half pearl and flower from the Pretties kit ($66.95 for TONS of bling!). The flower has been dyed with the Baja Breeze reinker to co-ordinate with the rest of the page. A few butterflies fluttering through the bottom left-hand corner symbolize my journey from innocence to... well, all that I am today!

Check out my blog tomorrow for a sneak peak of the door prize I am making for the Tauranga Extravaganza that is on this coming Sunday at St Johns Church in Bureta. I still have a couple of spaces left to fill so please contact me ASAP if you would like to join us for a fun afternoon of stamping and crafting on Sunday afternoon!

Get ready for Christmas!

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Christmas is just around the corner, and this year's Christmas is going to be EXTRA special because I will be spending it with my nephews and niece in Australia!!! Yes, I'm leaving on the 17th of December for Sydney! I'm really looking forward to having a Christmas with kids (because, after all, isn't that what Christmas is all about!). I'm a little bit worried about the heat (!!) but am starting to get even more worried about just how much I have to do between now and then; cards, presents, decorations - it's enough to make my head spin!!



Luckily I found some gorgeous easy to make ornaments on Gretchen Barron's blog, so I've got the tree sorted! I also made some of these ornaments for our Creative Inkers team swap on Saturday, which happily also had a Christmas theme, and put them on a little Christmas tree so that the other ladies could each pick one and leave behind a swap for me under the tree.


These gorgeous little origami ornaments are made using the lovely Ski Slope DSP paper ($19.95 for 12 sheets) from the Spring Mini Catalogue, which is only available for another 6 weeks. The advantage of using double-sided paper is that it is slightly thicker than regular paper and makes a sturdier ornament.

If you would like to find out how to make this then sign up for my FREE newsletter here. During the run up to Christmas I will be sending out regular Christmas bonus newsletters showing you a variety of quick and easy Christmas projects that even the busiest person will have time to do. And hopefully I will be able to fit some of them into my suitcase to take to Oz for my nephews and niece!
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It's a new month, and a new day, and a new catalogue

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Oh dear, I've been a bad blogger! But it's a new month and I intend to change my ways, and what better inspiration than the new Spring Mini catalogue from Stampin' Up! I had a great launch party yesterday - wow, haven't had that many people in the house in years! I made some samples using the new sets, and my favorite one is this very masculine card:


The stamp is from the set Uncharted Territory ($40.95), which also includes a very cool lighthouse stamp. I've used the new Parisian Breeze Specialty DSP ($27.95), a textured cover-weight paper in delicious shades of Baja Breeze and Chocolate Chip, in this very simple but effective design. The yacht and sentiment are stamped onto white gloss card with black Stazon ink, and then sponged with Baja Breeze and Pacific Point inks, which are then polished off to give a soft look. The strip of Baja Breeze is attached to the layout with clear rhinestone brads and dimensionals to give additional depth. This design would be great for a scrapbooking layout too. I got it from a blog called Cat's Scratching Post.

Please contact me if you would like a copy of the new Spring Mini catalogue - it's packed full of great ideas and inspiration, and best of all it's free!

Raspberry Tart Double-Page Spread

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Well, you might need to click on this photo to see the pages in their full glory, as I cropped it before uploading - it's so hard to take a shot of two 12x12 pages side by side!! This DSP is so girly, and perfect for some shots of my lovely niece Moana as she turned the big ONE! The photos aren't the best, but they just go perfectly with this paper. It's also not my usual style to make two pages symmetrical with each other, but it worked really well in this case.

Here's the recipe:

Papers: Whisper White, Rose Red, Kiwi Kiss, Raspberry Tart DSP
Inks: Rose Red
Stamps: So Swirly Jumbo Wheel
Accessories: Eyelet Border punch, 5 Petal punch, Boho Blossoms punch, Ticket Corner punch (USA only), Top Note Sizzix die (USA only), Silver Hodgepodge Hardware, White Gel Pen.